<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>The Timid and Tenacious by Bugbreaths, SpookyTsubaki</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28486473">The Timid and Tenacious</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bugbreaths/pseuds/Bugbreaths'>Bugbreaths</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpookyTsubaki/pseuds/SpookyTsubaki'>SpookyTsubaki</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>School of Rock (2003), School of Rock - Lloyd Webber/Slater/Fellowes</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Battle of the Bands, F/M, Sundew - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 16:09:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>33,627</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28486473</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bugbreaths/pseuds/Bugbreaths, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpookyTsubaki/pseuds/SpookyTsubaki</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>He always enjoyed having her around, that little girl he knew so long ago was now grown up. But the tension felt thick in the air, especially as she got older and stayed over more.. he wasn't sure what she was doing, perse, but the little manager always had something up her sleeve. </p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dewey Finn/Summer Hathaway</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Author's Note: What follows is a roleplay between BugBreaths and myself, SpookyTsubaki. They are playing Dewey and I am playing Summer. Because of the nature of roleplay, the point of view changes often and you will see each event as it was perceived by our renditions of these characters. It's being posted here so that we can have a comprehensive archive to look back on and reread easily rather than having to dig through messages and docs. Be warned going forward that this story may never have a clean or concise ending as that is not the point of roleplay.</p><p>All this being said, please do enjoy.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Summer Breeze Hathaway was a girl of organization. She was always on time, never missed a day of school, and was a straight A student. Making high honors every year, the girl was always on top. </p><p>Many would compliment her for all these advances, so needless to say, she prided herself on such things. It got her father’s attention, her mother’s adoration, and her teacher’s approval.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <em>That changed the day Mr. Schneebly stepped into the room. </em>
</p><p><br/>Standing roughly at six feet, with messy brown hair and a laughable dress code (especially for Horace Green), he was different. From the moment he opened his mouth, Summer was sure she hated the man’s character. </p><p><br/>Of course, that irritation grew when he assigned her ‘groupie’ of the band. But that career was short lived, as she looked up the term and threatened to tell her mother. </p><p><br/>That got her a promotion to manager. </p><p><br/>In turn, more time was spent with him, still decidedly disliking him. Naturally, she was sure she would catch him doing something fireable eventually. Then, she could go to Ms. Mullins, show the evidence and get her class back on track. </p><p><br/>But these nights of stalking, watching, waiting for him to slip up, even staying after school to plan and watch him forget his charade, led to complicated feelings. </p><p><br/>She tried to fight it, to swear that he was a no-good slacker, that he had no place in the school, and at one point, she was sure she caught him...or at least the <em>adults</em> did. But at that point, she realized, maybe he wasn’t that bad. She was far from liking him, but maybe they weren’t mortal enemies. </p><p><br/>She was the one who rallied everyone on the bus, who got them to Battle of the Bands. She was the one who went in and told him to hustle, nearly dragging him out of bed (save for the fear of what exactly he was wearing). </p><p><br/>They got there in no time. And he was so kind to her especially, making her feel like she really did matter to the bands success, scooping her up into a too-personal, too-tight hug... it felt nice. Which wasn’t in the vocabulary of Horace Green. He was different..<em>.Fun, even</em>. </p><p><br/>But that was years ago. </p><p><br/>She wasn’t twelve years old anymore, she was seventeen. And she had bigger things to worry about. </p><p><br/>The band’s success grew, but not without her running around behind the scenes, not to mention she had to start applying for colleges, if she wanted to get into Ivy League, it would take everything she had in her. </p><p><br/>So her time was split, she was rarely at home, normally spending time with Dewey, formerly ‘Mr. Schneebly”, working on school, or getting the band’s gigs. </p><p><br/>Right now, she sat  in his apartment, next to him on the couch looking at the openings around the city for gigs, as he lazily flipped through the channels on the television. </p><p><br/>The tension had grown between them...though she wasn’t sure why exactly. It was business as usual, she would come in at the start of the day, and stay there until they had the week sorted out (occasionally leading her to sleep over). The banter, the playful fights, tickling her when he felt she was too serious, all of that was fine. But part of her wondered, if it meant anything more.</p><p><br/>She shook those thoughts away, as she found a playable area. “Hey,” She nudged his arm “What about here? Around 7:30 on Wednesday next month? They have an opening for once.” </p><hr/><p><br/>Dewey Finn was the type to take things easy, a slacker, most would call him. He would get to places late, and never pay his rent. He was a leech that fed off others, according to Patty, the insufferable chick Ned had decided to keep as more than a one night stand. </p><p><br/>That was until he took the job at some little prep school. The first few days were a bore to him, a bunch of stuck up little douche bags telling him what to do. It was his own personal hell.</p><p><br/>However, the narrative changed the day he heard the sweet sound of music as he walked through the halls of the stuck up school..</p><p><br/>Stopping right in front of the door when he heard the playing, he peeked his head in, a big grin coming to his face. His class could play. It was Christmas all over for him on that day.</p><p><br/>However, as that day went on, one little girl seemed less than thrilled. What was her name again?....Sidney..Suzy… <em>Summer</em>. About the height of a gnome, with long black hair, and a perpetual scowl, she was a force to be reckoned with. </p><p><br/>So of course he <em>had</em> to have some fun with the girl who was a mini-Rosalie Mullins. </p><p><br/>He teased her gently, calling her little nicknames and soon enough having a playful banter with her. At least he thought so. It seemed she wasn’t so keen on the idea though, sneaking around, watching him, staying after school as if she was expecting him to be someone he was not- which, in fairness he was. </p><p><br/>But the days passed and he seemed to enjoy himself more and more, those dark circles under his eyes disappeared and the smell of booze left him slowly. He seemed to dress better and that old tired look was soon replaced with a smile. He was happier than ever.</p><p><br/><em> Little Miss Sunshine</em> took note of that. She seemed interested in him, or loathed him, really either seemed possible with her. </p><p><br/>There always seemed to be a shadow following him, every time he turned around he saw that little girl behind him. Summer was his mini secretary, or...something like that. Though he did enjoy her being so and found her to be his best confidant after a while. She was trustworthy and did a wonderful job of being manager. </p><p><br/>She was the one that held the band together.</p><p><br/>Years later she still held it together. </p><p><br/>Today however, he slumped on the couch a look of nonchalance on his face before he gave a glance over to her, saying something about booking a gig. The girl never stopped working. </p><p><br/>"Wait really? Hell yeah! Good job manager!" He gave her a high five, always pleasantly surprised with what she managed to pull off at such a young age.  "See, this is why you could never be a groupie."</p><p><br/>He always enjoyed having her around, that little girl he knew so long ago was now grown up- that wasn't to say she wasn't already practically an adult when he met her. Nevertheless the tension felt thick in the air, especially as she got older and stayed over more.. he wasn't sure what she was doing, perse, but the little manager always had something up her sleeve. </p><p><br/>With a sigh he finally picked a show and stretched his arms out with a tired groan. "Hey, do ya mind if I get more comfortable?" He asked, voice heavy with tension...as if he were nervous.  Having his arm possibly around her shoulder, it felt strange to him, but what was it between friends? </p><hr/><p><br/>With a small entertained expression, the girl gave him a high five, used to the fact she wouldn’t get away without indulging his childishness. Granted, she wasn’t always the most lighthearted person, but with him around, she was quick to have that guard wiped out. </p><p><br/>“Gee, thanks.” She chuckled, continuing to fill out the forms, unaware of the visible uncomfort her friend shouldered. </p><p><br/>As he spoke up though, she looked at him, her sharp brown ones adorned with curiosity as he spoke. She shrugged in response, figuring it was even silly to ask when they went about their lives. </p><p><br/>She shifted, leaning into him as she continued to work, typing away as he watched the program. She was comfortable, used to his odd awkward nature on occasion, as she simply went along her day, figuring it was beyond her control. </p><p><br/>Despite this, he was easy to be around, as a friend and sometimes confidant, so much so, that her own heart would occasionally flutter when their hands brushed, or when he’d carry her to the couch after a long show, or even the way he looked in the morning; hair all askew and messy, generally in whatever clothes he found in that hobbit hole he called a room. </p><p><br/>However, no matter what shade her cheeks darkened to, he always seemed oblivious. </p><p><br/>Once upon a time she tried flirting...it didn’t go as planned. Oftentimes coming out in one of his baggy shirts because she just “couldn’t find anything else to wear” , or  even going as far to talk about her love life with him. But he wouldn’t do a thing, treating her more as he would as a sister than anything more. </p><p><br/>So she gave up. </p><p><br/>Kind of…</p><p><br/>She kept doing what she did, but right now, she stayed in the place of a friend and nothing more. Which was fine for now, anyways, he was part of her life plan one way or another. They could be friends, she could live with that. </p><p><br/>So there they sat snuggled up on the couch as friends. </p><p><br/>But in no time, that silence got to be ironically, deafening for her. She was never one to enjoy the absent hum of the T.V, always turning it off when Dewey would leave it on after crashing on the couch. She shifted, with a slight sigh, before looking up at him, as he returned her glance. </p><p><br/>“Hey, since we have a lot to do the rest of the day, wanna order in? We can get chinese again, I’m starved.” She suggested, putting a small hand to her stomach with a half joking grin as she sat up to reach for her phone, not even waiting for an answer. </p><p><br/>The food came in no time, and the two set the table as they normally did when dining with only each other. </p><p><br/>Soon they sat down, stuffing their faces with noodles, dumplings , and more, chatting amongst each other before the topic of the band came up again. </p><p><br/>The girl picked at the last morsels of food with her chopsticks, as she gazed at him, talking on and on about what he had in store for them this week. </p><p>She was glad to be manager still, after all, Dewey was one of her only friends- as pathetic as it was, and as much as she would deny it. He was kind, even when she could barely tolerate him, and even now, on days she couldn’t even take a breath, he was there. </p><p><br/>Of course, as she listened, she soon realized she had missed the majority of the conversation. Quickly stuffing those thoughts back in pandora’s box, she shook her head. </p><p><br/>“I’m sorry..what did you say?” She inquired, starting to pick up the plates and fold up the boxes. </p><p><br/>He continued, without seeming all that suspicious, leaving her to heave a sigh of relief as she put away the food and rinsed the dishes, playing along with his boastful banter. Even if he did get a big head, it always did make her laugh. </p><hr/><p>They sat there in silence for a while, he was enjoying the show but something seemed off about them. About the closeness. She was so close, he glanced over to the girl as a smile came to his face. </p><p><br/>In that moment there he felt his heart flutter for a moment.</p><p><br/>He cared about her more than anything, in a friendly way of course. </p><p><br/>He opened his mouth about to speak before she started on about take out. But even then, she didn't care to wait for his answer, getting up to go call. </p><p><br/><em>Strange</em>, she always waited for him to reply. </p><p><br/>As they waited for the food, he watched her trying to pick up on what changed in her mood. He always found girls hard to read. </p><p><br/>Soon the food came though and he was preoccupied,  shoveling down each bite. Once he swallowed most of it he let a belch escape him before starting on about the week. </p><p><br/>"So Zach needs to practice a bit more, he's been slacking a bit. I was thinking I could put him in for a solo session. Also, for how well the band is doing recently I was thinking of a party... they deserve it and so do you. Since you've been such a good manager." He explained, quickly knocking down her usual arguments, taking another bite of the food as he looked over at the girl who seemed to be day dreaming.</p><p><br/>The man raised an eyebrow and snapped his fingers and chuckled. "Hey, Little Miss Sunshine, Did you hear a word I said?" He asked, a big smile on his face. </p><p><br/>He shook his head laughing at her day dreaming as she apologized for not listening to a word he said.</p><p><br/>"I was just talking about giving Zach an extra lesson, and having a small party for the band with a cake  or somethin'. Maybe after the battle?  How does that sound?" </p><hr/><p><br/>She settled back down to listen as he continued, brushing her dark hair out of the way as they talked. </p><p><br/>"A cake? Hm.. I mean maybe after rehearsal sometime, but we can't get that sidetracked this week, the battle is coming up again and we need all the practice we can get." She returned with a laugh.</p><p><br/>"I'll see if the little Italian pastry place downtown is taking orders and we'll go from there." She decided, taking out her phone already. </p><p><br/>She nodded as he spoke, making sure to order the correct size and such, after all, one slip up and she was sure she'd lose her place as manager. </p><p><br/>It wasn't that she was bad. Hell, she was great. But she was replaceable, there were always people who wanted to role of manager for Horace Green's School of Rock and she defended the title fiercely. </p><p><br/>She wanted to be the manager, she fought for the position every day, making sure everything was taken care of as they planned. </p><p><br/>She had this ever since she was twelve, and somewhere along the way, she realized she was good. She started getting paid, getting gigs, getting better pricing for it all. </p><p><br/>And Dewey liked her for that. </p><p><br/>So she refused to mess up, even if it pissed the other band members off, even if Dewey would laugh at her, even if the teachers got annoyed with her tenacious approach, she wasn't losing this position, nor was she losing the first group who respected her.</p><p><br/>She needed them.</p><p><br/>But as often as she worked, she found herself in her own head. She didn't need help, she worked through her own problems, they would never see a tear. She was a fighter, and a worker. Nothing stopped her.</p><p><br/>However, now she sat here, listening to Dewey go on before she intervened. </p><p><br/>"Hey, uhm- speaking of a party...after the battle, everyone kinda wanted to do a get together slash after party...I personally don't know, I think rest would be good after all of it, but what do you think?" She inquired, brushing the dark locks out of the way as she looked at the calendar app.</p><hr/><p>“Oh yeah of course after a rehearsal, I want them focused for the battle. I mean we have been winning these last few years, we don’t want to mess the streak up.” He gave her a wink making himself chuckle at it. </p><p><br/>“You know you don’t have to get it right now. You can wait until tomorrow or the day after tinkerbell. Though I do love how on top of it you are.” He started, his voice warm and sweet. </p><p><br/>“Also are you planning on staying the night again? It's getting late, and you can borrow something if you need.” The man rambled on again before his small companion chimed in.</p><p><br/>“That sounds fun, I agree it would be a good rest for the band and us.” He looked over at the younger girl, seeing her face shoved in her phone. A thought came over his mind as he grinned slightly. He quickly snatched the phone out of her hand and shoved it in his pocket. “Guess what, no more phone time and planning for the rest of the night.” </p><p><br/>The face she made could've killed, and it was all the more fun to him.</p><p>He couldn't help the fact that she did so much work, he wanted to  just spend time with his friend.</p><p><br/>A laugh escaped him, watching her try to get the phone back from him. “Sorry little miss sunshine you won’t get it back!”</p><p><br/>Quickly he stood up practically running away from her, a gale of obnoxious laughter as she followed after him. He seemed to be enjoying himself watching the small girl still trying to get it back from him. Which in turn  seemed to only make her more annoyed.</p><p><br/>“Oh come on miss stuck up, you need a break from this phone. You have been looking at it non-stop for hours!” </p><p><br/> He then saw the compromising state she was in and made a swift move to grab and tickle her. “Loosen up!” He shook her gently as he started to hear the muffled laughs from her. </p><p><br/>It made his heart all warm and fuzzy for a moment, his cheeks turning a slight red as he looked at her with an adoring smile. Those already ashen cheeks turned a darker red seeing how close they were. Faces inches apart as he held her close</p><p><br/>Quickly he got up. </p><p><br/> “Anyways! We are gonna watch a movie now, and no phones allowed. I will give it back to you after, Ms. Hathaway.”</p><hr/><p>She scrolled through her phone, half listening to him as she tried to find a date that worked for them that she could make an invite for. Giving him the occasional ‘hm’ or ‘right’ to show that she was listening. </p><p><br/>Looking up briefly when he invited her to stay the night, those chestnut eyes pondered whether or not she could tonight. </p><p>It was nice, the idea of staying where people actually wanted her, and listened to her. Her parents were nice...They loved her and all, but Dewey made sure she never felt invisible or left out. </p><p><br/>That mattered the most to her. </p><p><br/>She let a thoughtful frown cross her face and eventually nodded. “Y-yeah, that sounds great. I might need to borrow a shirt though.” She chuckled awkwardly, the dryness settling for her- but for him? Not so much. </p><p><br/>She looked back down at her phone, heaving a gentle sigh. Why were things so awkward between them? She would do anything to break the tension between them, to feel that normalcy and go back to her job. </p><p><br/>He was a good guy...despite the occasional lie- or as he put it 'exaggeration', but they were friends. She was sure every girl out there had had a crush on Dewey Finn at some point in time, she was no different.</p><p><br/>As she let these thoughts swirl in her head like a typhoon, she felt the phone get tugged from her hands and looked up to see one Dewey Finn staring back at her with an impish grin.</p><p><br/>"Dewey, come on, we have stuff to do, I don't have time-"</p><p><br/>He cut her off and she glared before indulging this mess of a squabble and lunging for the phone. "Give it back! Come on!" </p><p><br/>She was close to getting it, till he sprung up with unusual energy from such a big man, and nearly made her lose her balance in the process. She got right back up however, ready for a fight  as she sped after him in the small apartment.</p><p><br/>"Dewey! This isn't funny!" She protested, leaping in attempts to try and retrieve her phone. "We can play this later!"</p><p><br/>Yet as he grabbed her, she froze, looking up at him with soft, now-ashen cheeks. They paused, seeming to both pick up on some odd spark, before that grin returned to his face as he started to tickle her, hand traveling along her sides in hopes to get her to laugh. </p><p><br/>But she was determined to keep a straight face, until he found one part of her that she couldn’t stifle her laughter. </p><p><br/>Her sides hurt from laughing so hard, but he didn't stop despite her joking pleas. </p><p><br/>"Fine! Fine you win! I give up!" She laughed practically up against the wall in hopes he would let her catch her breath. </p><p><br/>But when she did, and opened her eyes, he was looking right back at her, faces a near fingers length away. Her own hue from her cheeks darkened, and she looked away, as her breath hitched, hands pressed against his chest.</p><p><br/>"Uhm- aha, right. Yeah, a movie sounds good. I can't promise that I won't try to steal my phone back though." She giggled, as they walked over to pick out a movie, mind still dwelling on how close they got.</p><hr/><p>Dewey was never one to pick up on things easily, but something seemed different between them in that moment. Was that supposed to mean something? Thoughts came over his mind as he snuggled closer to her on the couch.</p><p><br/>The movie seemed to go by far too quickly as his mind kept thinking about it. Those rosy round cheeks staying the entire time. She was so close, she was still so close now. </p><p><br/>With a careful glance over he saw her, she seemed to be into the movie. Or off in her own little world. Was she thinking about it as well? She was just a child, he could never ever like her that way. Still the thought of her remained prominent in his head. </p><p><br/>As the movie came to a close he let out a yawn and sighed. "Alright it's time for bed. I'm exhausted." He grumbled reaching into his pocket and handing the phone back to her.</p><p><br/>That's when an idea popped into his mind. A little test that could help him figure out what she was feeling. </p><p><br/>"Hey, so Ned has to get up really early tomorrow. He is going on some teacher excursion….I don't want him waking you up, why don't you sleep in my bed for the night?" Half of that was a lie, it was the only way she'd ever sleep in the same bed as him. Normally she slept on the couch, or he would find her asleep at the computer in the middle of the night.</p><p><br/>Tonight was different though, he took a very tiny leap of faith and watched as it didn't back fire yet.  </p><p><br/>He got up, the couch groaning in protest. "Let me get you a shirt to change into while ya think about it, no answer is wrong. " </p><p><br/>The man grabbed a shirt off the ground giving it a quick smell test before walking back out to her. "Here you go, a freshly cleaned shirt." He joked with a smile looking at her. </p><p><br/>"Anyway, help yourself to the bathroom to change. I'm gonna go to my room and do that. Also I put your toothbrush out for you." </p><p><br/>With that he walked back into his room and closed the door with a gentle sigh. Now he had to figure out what to wear to bed if she decided to sleep with him, he couldn't just wear his underwear. She was still a kid and that was saying way too much. He looked around for a moment, before slipping out of his day clothes and into just a pair of loose hanging pants. </p><p><br/> He made himself comfortable in bed before hearing her come in. "Hey, go ahead and get comfortable." He heard her small response before climbing into bed next to him.</p><p><br/>For a moment he laid on his back staring at the ceiling, that heart pounding feeling coming back to him. Could he snuggle her? They always did on the couch. It should be fine right? </p><p><br/>He rolled over to see her back facing him. So he pulled her closer and his arms wrapped around her. His face nuzzled into the back of her shoulder as he let out a content sigh. </p><p><br/>This was fine. They were just friends snuggling.</p><hr/><p>Summer settled on the couch with him, keeping a safe distance now. They were close before, so close. And now here she was at the other end of the couch, sitting there like some scorned dog. </p><p>
  <br/>
  <em>She didn't have to be.</em>
</p><p><br/>With ever so delicate movements, she got closer, inch by inch, as the movie went on. </p><p><br/>"We haven't watched this one in ages." She murmured,eyes glued to the screen as if tempting a look at him was dangerous.</p><p><br/>The movie went on, while her mind was elsewhere; she wanted to talk to him about that, about how his chubby cheeks never ceased to appear pink under the stubble. </p><p><br/>But what if she read it wrong? </p><p><br/>What if these things were normal, and she misread them? She'd need to plot more before she did anything drastic. </p><p><br/>Yet before she knew it, the credits were rolling, and he was talking to her. Had she really been that zoned out?</p><p><br/>Sleep in his bed?...with him?</p><p><br/>"W-what? In...your bed?" Her face felt hot as she tried to speak. Quickly, she tried to compose herself. </p><p><br/>"Uhm, I'd like that, thanks." She nearly squeaked out before he went to his room, leaving her alone on the couch.</p><p><br/>She had to get it together. He was offering her a place to sleep. He didn't see anything else in it. So she had to play it that way too. </p><p><br/>He came back, tossing her the shirt with some half joke as she returned it with a wry chuckle before heading to the bathroom. </p><p><br/>Once she locked the door, she leaned against it, pressing the shirt to her nose. She couldn’t explain why, but she always liked the smell of his clothes, the cologne he wore was nothing special- probably some off-brand musky scent he found in the nearest one-stop-one-shop. But she liked it. </p><p><br/>She changed out of her clothes for the day, throwing on the old cotton rock shirt that hung far too big- reaching to approximately her knees, before tying up the silky black hair. </p><p><br/>She looked in the mirror, always shocked to see what she looked like without her usual minimalist attire. </p><p><br/>Splashing some warm water on her face, she washed off the make-up to look up at a sight she wasn't particularly fond of; a small, tired little girl, who barely seemed to grow since the seventh grade. </p><p><br/>Yeah, this would be what would get him to fall for her. </p><p><br/>She dried her face, brushed her teeth, and put her clothes in the hamper before going to his room. </p><p><br/>She found him lying in bed already, shirtless and seemingly unfazed by the two of them sharing the bed for the first time. Well, almost first time; there had been times that she'd 'accidentally' fallen asleep in his bed, but he'd always taken the high road...going to sleep on the couch and leaving her to sleep. </p><p><br/>But now she was there, snuggling into bed, the shirt raising a little higher than her mid-thigh as she shifted. </p><p><br/>"Hey, thanks for letting me sleep here, I'm sure it'll be much more comfortable than the couch." She chuckled despite not even looking him in the eye. </p><p><br/>Part of this was solely to hide the fact she was as flushed beyond control, raven hair hanging over her cheeks as if for the purpose of hiding the shade she wore as she buried her face in the pillow. </p><p><br/>Her eyes grew heavy, and she felt as he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her small body close before yawning into her shoulder. Her skin prickled at the sensation of his breath right on her, but she stayed as still as possible. Inevitably outlasting him as he fell asleep shortly thereafter. </p><p><br/>"Goodnight Dewey."</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Author's Note: What follows is a roleplay between BugBreaths and myself, SpookyTsubaki. They are playing Dewey and I am playing Summer. Because of the nature of roleplay, the point of view changes often and you will see each event as it was perceived by our renditions of these characters. It's being posted here so that we can have a comprehensive archive to look back on and reread easily rather than having to dig through messages and docs. Be warned going forward that this story may never have a clean or concise ending as that is not the point of roleplay.</p><p>All this being said, please do enjoy.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>"No need to thank me." He said in a voice that begged sleep to come all the sooner. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was so </span>
  <em>
    <span>perfect.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Silky black hair draping across her peach soaked skin, her tiny body so snuggly fit against his own, the small of her back pushed against so much so that occasionally with a grunt- or was it more of a groan? He would shift to get slightly more comfortable. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Goodnight Summer." He whispered, after she had long-since fallen asleep. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But the night came and went quickly. As the light shined in through the curtains the man awoke with a small groan. He wasn't ready for the day, and he certainly wasn't ready to get up. As he started to get up for the day he felt a person next to him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Summer. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Contrary to how she was most of the day, she looked so vulnerable as she slept; blanket cuddled tightly around her to rest her cheek, hair messy and unkempt, her plush lips parted softly, the occasional frown coming to them, a grimace to the brows. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He wanted to reach over, to pull her close and give a soft kiss to wake her up before they got ready for the day- but he couldn’t. Of course he couldn’t! He wasn’t like the monsters on the news who would be convicted of taking advantage of some sweet little kid! Certainly not him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He needed out, and quickly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As quietly as he could he got up leaving the sleeping girl. He grabbed a random shirt on the ground, throwing it on before stumbling his way into the kitchen and straight to the coffee pot. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Soon enough the smell of coffee filled the apartment, hoping this would wake her up. Or his lack of presence. He poured two cups of coffee and set one on the counter as he waited for his dear friend to wake up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sipping his coffee in peace, it wasn’t until he woke up a bit more that one thought plagued him: Summer had slept with him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Surely that was wrong- his gut ached as his cheeks darkened at the thought, the thought that she so willingly slept in </span>
  <em>
    <span>his bed</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Of course, this happened before; she would occasionally fall asleep and he would take to the couch- or they’d keep some distance. </span>
  <em>
    <span>But last night was different. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Was anything up for game? She said yes to that, but did she even know what all she had said yes too? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That's when he heard her voice he quickly looked up, his cheeks turning a dark pink. "Oh hey, good morning. I made you a cup of coffee." He gave her a gentle smile but it read guilitly, his shifting and wide smile were more than enough of a hint. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He was doing something wrong</span>
  </em>
  <span>. She was just a little girl. The same annoying, tenacious little girl he had always known.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>As quickly as she fell asleep, she was awake. The smell of coffee lingered throughout the apartment, and it was colder now, the sheets pulled around her hardly felt similar to her bedmate’s arms, which she would’ve much preferred. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Half asleep, she got up, throwing on one of the myriad sweatshirts he had laying around- she chose one that she deemed to be cleaner, reminding herself to hire a maid service or something to help him stay somewhat organized. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Walking out into the chilled apartment, she rubbed her eyes and yawned, before she caught sight of him, sitting there as he did every morning, drinking a cup of coffee- one cream, five sugars, the way he always made it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She noticed the small mug left on the counter for her, smiling at his consideration. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” she murmured, taking the mug and sitting down next to him. “How’d you sleep?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taking a sip of the coffee, she yawned, trying for the life of her to wake up and get moving on the day. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I memoed Zack about a lesson last night, would today work for you?” She asked, barely taking a breath as she willed herself to wake up. “It’d be best if we did it before the next all-band rehearsal, that way he’ll be prepared, maybe even ahead of the group.” She explained thoughtfully. </span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>"I slept well. How about you?" He asked sipping on his morning wake up drink. "Yeah today will work, we should get this done soon though. I want to make sure we sound amazing before the battle."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I'm gonna take a shower and get ready. Tell Zack we are meeting at nine." He grumbled standing up and giving her a small smile. Before standing and going to his room, grabbing random clothes off the ground before making his way into the bathroom.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He turned the water one trying to calm his nerves, he got undressed before getting in letting the semi hot water drip over him. The only two thoughts on his mind were the battle and the girl that was in his kitchen-his two favorite things. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>How had she looked so cute this morning? It was a vast change from the usual stoic persona the girl wore. But there she stood in </span>
  <em>
    <span>his kitchen</span>
  </em>
  <span>, rubbing her eyes and waking up, looking like one of his perfect dreams. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But then his mind wandered… </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Letting his hand wander down his chest and stomach to his already half hard dick, he wrapped his hand around and slowly started to move his hand. Oh Summer. He couldn't help but think about her in those short skirts she always wore, or those tight shirts that hugged her frame just right. He bit his lip moving his hand faster, placing his other hand against the wall.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh fuck.” He grumbled through gritted teeth. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Summer on her knees, sucking him off, a hand entangled  in her hair watching her with a smirk on his face. Summer, a little tied up with a flushed face. A groan left him as he finished himself off, soft pants leaving him with a contented lust-drunk smile on his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was going to make someone very happy one day, but selfishly, he wanted her all to himself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That's when it snapped in him. </span>
  <em>
    <span>No.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He couldn't think of her that way anymore, she was a friend nothing more.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>A fat load of cum dripping down the drain in case he couldn’t find a moment later, He rinsed himself off  before getting out and wrapping a towel around his waist. He wiped away the fog from the mirror and looked at his own reflection. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He felt in the wrong, but those thoughts kept coming and coming. Her kissing him good luck on the cheek before the battle, feeling her tiny arms wrap around his neck, as she stood on her tiptoes. He couldn’t help the smile that came to his face as he got dressed into his jeans and t-shirt that said </span>
  <em>
    <span>'Gettin’ lucky in Kentucky.' </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man walked back out seeing his friend dressed for the day in one of her business casual outfits. "It's a good thing you always bring an extra pair of clothes." He gave her a small chuckle before grabbing his guitar case. "You ready to go Lucy Liu?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When she replied he made his way down to the van with her and got in. "What type of morning is it, AC/DC or Led Zeppelin?" He asked looking over at the girl with a small grin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was like every other morning, he would crank his music up on the way to work. Always ignoring Summer as she tried to tell him about the week, before she finally joined in.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Once he picked a song they were on their way, music blaring as the charismatic man sang along the entire time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She settled in, nursing the small cup of coffee as he explained his thoughts on the matter- this time, he agreed though. She couldn’t say it was always difficult being a manager, especially with someone as laid-back as himself, but most times it was a challenge. On the rare occasion he wasn’t joking, he was very efficient- much like herself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“On it, I’ll shoot him a message.” the young girl spoke dismissively.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Summer watched him leave, his straight, awkward beeline towards his room was quite the sight, and if she was more awake, she’d be sure to pester him until he told her what was going on. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But alas, she stayed there, comfortably warm and waking up as she sent the messages she needed to,  in order to organize the foreseeable future of events. However, no matter how hard she tried, her thoughts kept drifting over to Dewey. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Letting her sleep in his bed, cuddling up with her, doing the little things like making her coffee- that had to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>something </span>
  </em>
  <span>right? She wasn’t crazy when she watched him choke on his words, or cuddle up with her when they had late nights, but why wouldn’t he say anything? If she knew anything it was that he loved the limelight; he never would give up the opportunity to say what he wanted to. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>These thoughts plagued her as she found her bag and pulled out her clothes, going to the bathroom to change. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Why was he doing all of this if he didn’t like her? She couldn’t be crazy about this. It made sense, she just couldn’t fathom why he hadn’t spoken up yet. Was it her fault? Did she mess up in some way? Or scare him? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She brushed through her long onyx hair till it was frazzled and static, with trembling hands she buttoned her blouse and put on the rest of her attire. She looked in the mirror, trying a smile. Why was she anxious? She knew what she wanted. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He </span>
  </em>
  <span>was the one giving mixed signals. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a huff, she finished getting ready; tying up her distressed ebony locks, putting on her usual makeup, and straightening up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She shouldn’t be worried. The ball was in his court. And she always had solutions for his awol decisions. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Eventually, she  found herself back at the counter, scrolling through the newest batch of emails, trying so hard to distract herself as Dewey had walked in. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At the use of his odd petname, she rolled her eyes, giving a wry grin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh how I wish you would stop calling me that.” She deadpanned, before continuing.  “But yes, I am. Zack texted back finally. He’ll meet us there.” She spoke, grabbing her bag and walking out with him, being sure to lock the door behind him as she always did. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They got in the car, and she stole a few glances. He always did clean up well, but she knew that the moment he came to Horace Green, but when thing she could never grasp was why he was so excitable in the mornings. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But as the drive started and went on, the minutes passed, him blaring some rock music, much to her disdain- as anyone would have at eight thirty on a Saturday.  Her thoughts went south; she wanted to ask him, to question as to why he chose last night to sleep with her. Why he even invited her in the first place. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Was she being naive? Did he even want her? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Just as she opened her mouth to speak, he continued singing along happily. She couldn’t interrupt him. She’d talk about it later, and be left alone with her thoughts for now. </span>
</p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>As they pulled into the parking lot he turned off the blaring music before turning to face her. “Hey, while I’m working with Zack would you mind checking to see if anyone else needs help before practice. I wanna make sure everyone is ready before the concert.” He gave her a nervous chuckle and nodded at her reply.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you Summer, you’re the best.” He gave her a pat on the shoulder before grabbing his guitar and getting out. “I will meet you inside.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Why was he so awkward all of the sudden? It was one night of sleeping in the bed together. Nothing else happened. A sigh left him as he went inside, finding Zack already there, strumming away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “That sounds good, maybe put some emotion into it.” He gave a small chuckle setting his case down and getting his guitar out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know I always put emotions into it Dewey.” The boy joked back, pushing the few curls that had fallen in his face out of the way. As he was about to go on with another snarky comment his phone buzzed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He cocked his head, surprised to see yet another message from Sumner.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>‘Hey, can you see if Dewey likes anyone? Can you see if he likes me? Don't be weird about it!’ </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A small stifle laugh left him as he looked over at the mess of a man, he couldn't believe Summer liked him. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Dewey Finn</span>
  </em>
  <span> out of all people. They were unconventional to say the least, always at eachother’s throats, but almost the entire band would agree that the two belonged together. But how was he going to do this? He couldn't bring it up casually. That's when it clicked in his mind.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey Dewey, I’ve got a question. If you like someone, how do you deal with it?” The younger boy asked as he saw Dewey physically tense. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, normally I try and do nice things for them. If I'm being honest I’m not the best at letting people know I like them. I mean I kissed Ms. Mullins on our first date...” He admitted as he started to tune his guitar. He bit his bottom lip as he  concentrated on the task at hand.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why ya asking bud?” He questioned not taking his eyes off the tuner. Was he on to him? Did Summer think he had a crush on her? Was he being too nice?</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>“Oh just curious." Right, like that was the only reason."So, ya like anyone </span><em><span>right</span></em> <em><span>now</span></em><span>?” </span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A sigh left Dewey as he glanced over to Zack. What was with all these questions?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I kinda like someone. Is this like a man to man talk? You goin' through somethin'?” He joked, before ealizing he sealed his own grave- what if they did figure out? He strummed his guitar finally satisfied with how it tune it sounded. “Now come on let's get to work, we don’t have much time till band practice.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The younger boy let out a sigh as they started to get to work. Why would Summer ask him to do this? Couldn't she do these  things on her own?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The hour and a half soon passed and they got ready for the other band members to show up. Dewey focused on setting everything up trying not to think about those questions Zack had asked him. Was he on to him? No that wouldn't be possible, Summer didn't know and neither did Zack.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So who do you like?” The question came out from the boy's mouth and made him stop in his tracks, he turned to face him and gave a small laugh. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Zack, that's personal information. Also, why the hell do you care? ”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The kid rolled his eyes at the man and sighed. He really was dragging this on? He owed Summer. He couldn't just  give up after what she had done for him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know the whole band already knows who you like right? It’s so obvious dude. I just wanna get the money from the bet. Whoever gets you to say it out loud first gets twenty bucks.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What!? No you are not using my secrets to win any money! Go get ready for practice or something.”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>When he turned to her, shutting off the eardrum-bursting music, she put a small grin on, hoping she could mask her worries so as not to scare away the man. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He leaned close as he asked the question-it was unintentional at best, but she couldn’t beat the heat that bled to her cheeks as he gave her a sincere grin, patting her on the arm before getting out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah-yeah, no problem!” She called, uncaring if he was out of earshot or not. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He walked in with a stiffness, leaving her still sitting in the car, trying to compose herself so as not to appear any less off her game than she already was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She straightened, brushing her hair out of the way as she took a breath. Then, as if possessed by another being, she picked up her phone. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Finding the contact she was looking for -and one she deemed she could trust- she messaged. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hey Zack, can you see if Dewey likes anyone? Don't be weird about it! Can you just see if he likes me?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She sent it. Before she could even rationalize, she sent the message. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But Who would Zack tell? He owed her after a few mishaps with missing practices. And she had enough dirt on him to keep him quiet. She was curious is all, and if Dewey didn’t like her, that would be perfectly fine. She could move on and manage the band as she did before. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>But if he did..</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She shook her head, getting out of the car and away from it all; the complex feelings now piling on her and weighing her down. She nearly ran into the school, only her laptop and phone in hand- documents now long forgotten. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She set up in the extra practice room for the time being, hoping to ignore any thoughts about the night or the character that was her employer. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But her mind just kept pushing. Zack </span>
  <em>
    <span>still </span>
  </em>
  <span>hadn’t responded. And he was good about that. Unless they were talking more about it now? No, this was silly. The lesson probably commenced, they probably laughed at her and Dewey would tease her about it in no time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her heart physically ached at the idea, but she wasn’t going to let it slow her. She was overthinking. She had things to do, and wouldn’t let some silly crush be the reason she didn’t complete her work. Besides, it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>Dewey;</span>
  </em>
  <span> He didn’t know what he wanted half the time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She would just have to try harder. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The hour passed, and she watched her bandmates file into the room with obnoxious chatter-typical of them, no respect for the other workers in the building. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She walked in, heartache masked behind a confident layer of determination. She greeted everyone, instructing each player and participant on what to do so none had an idle moment. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And neither did she. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was better this way. She could focus on her new plan later, but for now, she had to look professional and stay on the ball. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But maybe double checking wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She walked over to Zack and Dewey, greeting them as she normally did. “Hey, how’d the practice go? You ready for the battle?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The exchange was short, as Dewey knew that he had to prepare too, which left her with an already paling Zack. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In a hushed tone she started. “What did he say? Why didn’t you respond?” she hissed, nearly nose to nose with the poor confidant. “Remember Mooneyham, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>owe me.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  </span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>"Practice went great Summer." Zack gave her a slight glare, as Dewey nodded in agreement.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"We have to get ready for the full band practice now, so Zack get ready." The older man looked at him before walking away, his cheeks turning a slight red. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Summer was on to him, she had to be.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"He wouldn't spill anything Summer, but it's obvious he likes you. Are you that oblivious?" Zack questioned with a small snicker. "And I didn't respond because I was busy </span>
  <em>
    <span>practicing</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and getting him to talk. If you want anything done you might as well ask him yourself, coward." he teased before meeting her glare and backing down. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You do realize you'd have better luck getting it out of him."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And with that the boy walked away getting ready for practice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dewey was doing everything in his power to be far away from Summer, he put a fair amount of distance between. The entire band practiced his mind elsewhere. He couldn't stop thinking about her and the fact the whole band knew.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With each new song, he would shift uncomfortably and try to simply distract himself. But that would only work for so long. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Alright, everyone let's take a five minute break. Zack, can I talk to you outside?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When the boy followed him outside he pulled out his wallet with a sigh. "Fine, so you can brag about it and be cool. I kinda like Summer." The man pulled a twenty from his wallet and handed it to him. "Don't tell her got it?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Heck yeah! Thanks Dewey, and of course. She can figure it out on her own." Zack laughed a little as they made their way back inside. He couldn't help but have a big grin on his face having won the “bet”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dewey on the other hand tapped his foot anxiously as he waited for everyone to get to their places for practice. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once it had begun again his eyes would flicker over to the younger girl. She didn't know right? Zack wouldn't mention it would he?</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>"I'm not!- I'm not oblivious,Zack. But I'm also not gonna make a fool of myself and ask him." She spat, letting him go. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever, you’re useless.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was back to square one; Dewey seemed anxious, Zack was little to no help, and she didn’t have anyone else to ask for help. With a small groan of frustration the girl straightened up and went to the table in the back to work and ponder. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nearly a half an hour passed before she looked up to see Dewey moving erratically and rigidly along the band. He barely spoke, and when he did, not one joke was cracked. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Strange </span>
  </em>
  <span>for the constantly excitable man, she thought. But just as she went on to think about what could have him so worried, he called a break.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everyone went their separate ways, and Dewey made a beeline for the door- followed by none other than </span>
  <em>
    <span>Zack.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Whatever was going on, she knew she needed to find out, but that could wait. She couldn’t go right up and eavesdrop, she was smarter than that. But curiosity itched her as she tried to work through the break; </span>
  <em>
    <span>What could be so important? Was Zack getting in trouble for the questions? </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was about to grab her phone, to see what could be keeping them, but as she did so, the two walked right back in- Zack looking thrilled as he crammed some unseen item into his pocket. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The players sat down, and their teacher’s demeanor was the same, eyes darting about nervously, tapping his foot nearly against the rhythm. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Throughout the noise, Summer worked. She couldn’t get distracted by something so miniscule, she could just ask Zack or Dewey later, she’d figure something out- she always did. </span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>It seemed as if time flew by for Dewey and everyone was packing up to go home. "Remember to practice! Battle of the bands is in a day, you know we have to knock it out of the park!" He said with an anxious grin on his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now he had to go and be alone with Summer again. What would happen? He couldn't be an awkward anxious mess around her all the time. She would start to question him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Tomorrow I wanna hear some amazing music, you've gotta knock my socks off." Dewey said with a snicker at his own unfunny joke as he noticed some of the kids rolling their eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Hey! Don't roll your eyes Freddie, I’lll make you do Summer's job." The man joked once again, trying to hide those other thoughts and feelings creeping in the back of his mind. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He hummed a tune as he walked over to Summer with a small anxious smile. "Hey. So later I've gotta tell you some weird questions Zack asked during our one on one." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He always shared everything with her, even if she would catch on to his "little" crush. She was his best friend, so deserved to know these things. The thought of telling her made his heart beat faster and his pale cheeks turned a pinkish color. She couldn't catch on that quickly? Summer was oblivious to some things, this was one of them. Right?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once the place was empty and it was just the two of them he decided to start in on that conversation. "So Zack asked me if I like anyone, and apparently the band has some bet going on right now about who I like." He spoke, an anxious laugh leaving him as he scratched the back of his neck.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He looked at her watching her every move seeing how she would react. Nothing seemed to change, though his face felt hotter with every word. "Are you in on that? Who do you think I like? Cause apparently it's a bunch of different people." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Those were some lies.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Picking up his guitar he listened to her every word as they left the building and headed over to his van. He set his guitar in the back before getting in and looking over at the girl who was always in shotgun.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A small half smile came to his face as he nodded when she finished speaking.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>As everyone packed up, Summer made sure to check with each and every person, to see if </span>
  <em>
    <span>they </span>
  </em>
  <span>were prepared. The look of panic told her more than enough, so with slight scolding and a few minor threats, most of them were rushing out to finish last minute things, that- by her judgement- should have been done weeks ago. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But they left, and knew they had work to do if they wanted to win, so she held a bit of faith as the last musician left, leaving her alone with Dewey yet again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As he walked over, she made it a point to pack up hurriedly, for fear of being roped into a conversation she wasn’t ready for. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Hey, you'll definitely have to. He always has </span>
  <em>
    <span>something </span>
  </em>
  <span>to say." She remarked smiling to herself at the half-hearted joke. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Was he onto her? Did Zack say too much? She prayed that the conversation wasn't anything too serious…maybe he found something else funny. Maybe she was reading too much into it. Besides, it wasn’t like Mr. Finn </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew </span>
  </em>
  <span>she liked him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She wasn't stupid, there had to be something up. The way he seemed to be constantly on edge all day told her that much. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once everything was put away and ready for the next practice, they started out to the van. She wrapped her scarf tightly around her jacket and fit on her hat before pushing open the doors as they conversed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But as soon as he uttered that sentence, her cheeks paled, and her little heart dropped. "W-what? That's ridiculous."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>to know. He wasn't stupid, he had to know what she had been plotting. Was she going to get in trouble? Was he angry at her?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She had to play dumb, it was her only saving grace against the mortification. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"No,</span>
  <em>
    <span> they're doing that?</span>
  </em>
  <span> That's crazy.." she grinned, hoping to tune out the thumping in her ears "Is it someone in the band?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She prayed the answer would be one she wanted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But he didn’t even respond, instead, he just set his guitar in its case and waited for her to hop in before turning on the music again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Did she say something wrong? He wasn't encouraging her to go after him, was he? No! He was clueless! The likelihood that he wanted some little girl he met in the fifth grade was strictly fiction.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>He heard her loud and clear, but nothing came out of him. Not a single word. He wanted to slam his face in the steering wheel. Idiot. He was an idiot. She was smart, she had to know that he liked her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But how could he discourage it? It was obviously wrong, and neither of them could afford trouble. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The ride was silent for the most part, besides the music and his muttered singing. He felt that awkward tension start to grow as he pulled up to the apartment and sighed looking at her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Yeah it's someone in the band, but you can't go around tellin' people that." He admitted  hoping that would end the conversation and get rid of that god-awful tension. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He got out quickly scurrying to the back and grabbing his guitar and quickly going up to his apartment. She knew now, there was now doubt about it, she had to know. What would this do to their friendship? Thoughts started to race through his mind as his hands started to shake slightly as he unlocked the door and walked inside. He set the case down turning to face the small girl that followed him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “So the battle is soon. Are you nervous?” He asked a bit jokingly, trying to change the subject.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That's what he needed to focus on was the battle, not his feelings towards her right now. Those feelings could come to light another day. “I know I am a bit nervous but we have won almost every single year, so I am sure we will be fine.” The man let out a nervous laugh running a hand through his hair. “Also are you staying the night again? I can order in tonight. Great, I'll get on that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn't even wait for her to reply before he shuffled away to the kitchen quickly. Once he was alone he let out a loud sigh before placing his head against the wall with a groan. He needed to calm down a bit around her. She had to find out about his crush now soon, Zack knew and word travels fast through the band. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He shook his head getting these thoughts to go away before ordering some to go food from one of the many take out places they enjoyed. Of course he always knew her favorite meal, she had stayed over enough for him to know it by heart.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once the order was placed he made his way into the living room, stopping for a moment to see her there. She looked a bit nervous as well. What could be on her mind? Must have been the whole manager thing. That's all it had to be, nothing else. He stood there still watching her, those puppy love feelings coming back to him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was perfect, so perfect. His heart started to beat louder, he was sure she could probably hear it. He padded his way over to her being his awkward self as usual, still checking out every little detail about her. “So I got some food.” He stared at her for a moment, those thoughts not leaving his mind. Would he mess up if he made a move? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, you've got a hair out of place.” The man mutters tucking the loose strand behind her ear with a slight smile.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>It was silent for far too long. That by the time they reached the corner, Summer was ready to say something, </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything </span>
  </em>
  <span>to break the heavy silence that weighed on them both. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Just as she went to speak, to apologize for whatever she had said to make it weird, he spoke.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>'</span>
  <em>
    <span>It's someone in the band.'</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her heart leapt, causing a stifled grin to form on her face. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Maybe it was her. Maybe she had a shot. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But by the time she opened her mouth to respond, he was out of the car and walking up the stairs to his apartment. She followed after, putting the leather strap of her old bag along her shoulder as she picked up her pace. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She didn't fully catch up, until they got to his apartment. Shutting the door, and plopping on the couch promptly, she listened to what he inquired. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Barely.</span>
  </em>
  <span> I know this stuff like the back of my hand after all." She retorted, stealing a glance. "What about you?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before they could have much more of a conversation, he was going on another tangent...something about staying over she thought? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But with little exchange, he was gone, and she was left sitting on the couch baffled by half the conversation. Nearly ten minutes ago they had been talking about who he liked, and now, he was off in the other room and she sat there dumbfounded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But a little voice in the back of her head wouldn't leave her alone; what if she messed up? What if he liked someone else? What if he didn't want her to like him? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a deep breath, she stayed grounded. There was no use worrying, especially when she felt so close to knowing what he had to say. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was only when soft thumps got closer to her that she looked up to see Dewey towering above her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Hey," she greeted with her usual pursed grin. "Thanks for getting food, believe it or not, I don't think I remembered to eat lunch today."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Worry flickered in his eye at her mention of that, and it didn't do anything but make her heart ache. One way or another, he did care. She knew that much.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But instead of continuing on the subject they had once again established, gears appeared to be turning behind those big woodsy eyes he bore. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He bent down, getting close, before just pushing a strand behind her ear. And while she couldn’t deny the pink hue that decided to take presence, she was expecting something a bit different. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She felt so dumb. Of course that was such a dumb thing to think; that </span>
  <em>
    <span>he</span>
  </em>
  <span> would ever want to kiss her, especially so suddenly. Dewey Finn was the most impulsive person she has met, but even he wouldn’t do something that bold. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Uhm- Th-thanks. I didn't even notice." She gave a half-hearted chuckle.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>“Ha yeah, no need to thank me.” He spoke in a quieter voice. They were so close, she was close to him. One thing he noticed about her when they got this close was how nice she always smelled. To him she smelled like fresh flowers of some sort, she also smelled sweet like candy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A dazed look slowly came to his face as he stared into her dark eyes, before his own eyes moved down to her lips. So soft and pink and plump, she was so kissable. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No. He couldn't do that to her, he could not kiss her. She was just a kid and he was an adult, he couldn't make a move on her. Maybe when she was twenty, but he wasn't sure if he was still like her at that point.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Even with those thoughts screaming in his head he couldn't help himself and think of her in that way once again. One kiss wouldnt harm anyone right? No one had to know, it might help him get over her. She was right there, it was possible. Why was he holding back with her? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn't hold back with Mullins, with Summer though he got stage fright over the thought of ever kissing her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Just as that boost of confidence started to hit him like a truck the doorbell rang and the moment was ruined just as quickly as it started. “That must be the food.” He mutters going to the door a small annoyed sigh leaving him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was about to do it, the damn delivery man just had to show up now. He paid the man and brought the food over to the couch flopping down next to her. “I got your favorite like always, now eat up. You need to stop putting lunch off. Lunch is important and you gotta try and grow to at least surpass a few of the middle schoolers.” He joked with a small laugh and poked her tiny stomach.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The rest of the night passed like normal, they chatted about the battle as well as other upcoming events, then they went to bed. Once again he invited her to sleep with him again, to his surprise she agreed.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Author's Note: What follows is a roleplay between BugBreaths and myself, SpookyTsubaki. They are playing Dewey and I am playing Summer. Because of the nature of roleplay, the point of view changes often and you will see each event as it was perceived by our renditions of these characters. It's being posted here so that we can have a comprehensive archive to look back on and reread easily rather than having to dig through messages and docs. Be warned going forward that this story may never have a clean or concise ending as that is not the point of roleplay.</p><p>All this being said, please do enjoy.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>"No need to thank me." He said in a voice that begged sleep to come all the sooner. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was so </span>
  <em>
    <span>perfect.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Silky black hair draping across her peach soaked skin, her tiny body so snuggly fit against his own, the small of her back pushed against so much so that occasionally with a grunt- or was it more of a groan? He would shift to get slightly more comfortable. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Goodnight Summer." He whispered, after she had long-since fallen asleep. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But the night came and went quickly. As the light shined in through the curtains the man awoke with a small groan. He wasn't ready for the day, and he certainly wasn't ready to get up. As he started to get up for the day he felt a person next to him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Summer. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Contrary to how she was most of the day, she looked so vulnerable as she slept; blanket cuddled tightly around her to rest her cheek, hair messy and unkempt, her plush lips parted softly, the occasional frown coming to them, a grimace to the brows. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He wanted to reach over, to pull her close and give a soft kiss to wake her up before they got ready for the day- but he couldn’t. Of course he couldn’t! He wasn’t like the monsters on the news who would be convicted of taking advantage of some sweet little kid! Certainly not him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He needed out, and quickly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As quietly as he could he got up leaving the sleeping girl. He grabbed a random shirt on the ground, throwing it on before stumbling his way into the kitchen and straight to the coffee pot. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Soon enough the smell of coffee filled the apartment, hoping this would wake her up. Or his lack of presence. He poured two cups of coffee and set one on the counter as he waited for his dear friend to wake up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sipping his coffee in peace, it wasn’t until he woke up a bit more that one thought plagued him: Summer had slept with him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Surely that was wrong- his gut ached as his cheeks darkened at the thought, the thought that she so willingly slept in </span>
  <em>
    <span>his bed</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Of course, this happened before; she would occasionally fall asleep and he would take to the couch- or they’d keep some distance. </span>
  <em>
    <span>But last night was different. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Was anything up for game? She said yes to that, but did she even know what all she had said yes too? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That's when he heard her voice he quickly looked up, his cheeks turning a dark pink. "Oh hey, good morning. I made you a cup of coffee." He gave her a gentle smile but it read guilitly, his shifting and wide smile were more than enough of a hint. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He was doing something wrong</span>
  </em>
  <span>. She was just a little girl. The same annoying, tenacious little girl he had always known.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>As quickly as she fell asleep, she was awake. The smell of coffee lingered throughout the apartment, and it was colder now, the sheets pulled around her hardly felt similar to her bedmate’s arms, which she would’ve much preferred. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Half asleep, she got up, throwing on one of the myriad sweatshirts he had laying around- she chose one that she deemed to be cleaner, reminding herself to hire a maid service or something to help him stay somewhat organized. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Walking out into the chilled apartment, she rubbed her eyes and yawned, before she caught sight of him, sitting there as he did every morning, drinking a cup of coffee- one cream, five sugars, the way he always made it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She noticed the small mug left on the counter for her, smiling at his consideration. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” she murmured, taking the mug and sitting down next to him. “How’d you sleep?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taking a sip of the coffee, she yawned, trying for the life of her to wake up and get moving on the day. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I memoed Zack about a lesson last night, would today work for you?” She asked, barely taking a breath as she willed herself to wake up. “It’d be best if we did it before the next all-band rehearsal, that way he’ll be prepared, maybe even ahead of the group.” She explained thoughtfully. </span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>"I slept well. How about you?" He asked sipping on his morning wake up drink. "Yeah today will work, we should get this done soon though. I want to make sure we sound amazing before the battle."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I'm gonna take a shower and get ready. Tell Zack we are meeting at nine." He mumbled standing up and giving her a small smile. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He turned the water on after grabbing his clothes, trying to calm his nerves, he got undressed before getting in letting the semi hot water drip over him. The only two thoughts on his mind were the battle and the girl that was in his kitchen-his two favorite things. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>How had she looked so cute this morning? It was a vast change from the usual stoic persona the girl wore. But there she stood in </span>
  <em>
    <span>his kitchen</span>
  </em>
  <span>, rubbing her eyes and waking up, looking like one of his perfect dreams. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But then his mind wandered… </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Summer on her knees, in that baggy shirt she wore, sucking him off, a hand entangled  in her hair watching her with a smirk on his face. Summer, a little tied up with a flushed face. Summer, a sexual little vixen clad only in skimpy satin layers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Letting his hand wander down his chest and stomach to his already half hard dick, he wrapped his hand around and slowly started to move his hand. Oh Summer. He couldn't help but think about her in those short skirts she always wore, or those tight shirts that hugged her frame just right. He bit his lip moving his hand faster, placing his other hand against the wall.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh fuck.” He grunted through gritted teeth. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A groan left him as he finished himself off, soft pants leaving him with a contented lust-drunk smile on his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was going to make someone very happy one day, but selfishly, he wanted her all to himself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That's when it snapped in him. </span>
  <em>
    <span>No.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He couldn't think of her that way anymore, she was a friend nothing more.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>A fat load of cum dripping down the drain in case he couldn’t find a moment later, He rinsed himself off  before getting out and wrapping a towel around his waist. He wiped away the fog from the mirror and looked at his own reflection. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He felt in the wrong, but those thoughts kept coming and coming. Her kissing him good luck on the cheek before the battle, feeling her tiny arms wrap around his neck, as she stood on her tiptoes. He couldn’t help the smile came to his face as he got dressed in his jeans and t-shirt that read </span>
  <em>
    <span>'Gettin’ lucky in Kentucky.' </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man walked back out seeing his friend dressed for the day in one of her business casual outfits. "It's a good thing you always bring an extra pair of clothes." He gave her a small chuckle before grabbing his guitar case. "You ready to go Lucy Liu?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When she replied he made his way down to the van with her and got in. "What type of morning is it, AC/DC or Led Zeppelin?" He asked looking over at the girl with a small grin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was like every other morning, he would crank his music up on the way to work. Always ignoring Summer as she tried to tell him about the week, before she finally joined in.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once he picked a song they were on their way, music blaring as the charismatic man sang along the entire time. </span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>She settled in, nursing the small cup of coffee as he explained his thoughts on the matter- this time, he agreed though. She couldn’t say it was always difficult being a manager, especially with someone as laid-back as himself, but most times it was a challenge. On the rare occasion he wasn’t joking, he was very efficient- much like herself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“On it, I’ll shoot him a message.” the young girl spoke dismissively.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Summer watched him leave, his straight, awkward beeline towards his room was quite the sight, and if she was more awake, she’d be sure to pester him until he told her what was going on. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But alas, she stayed there, comfortably warm and waking up as she sent the messages she needed to,  in order to organize the foreseeable future of events. However, no matter how hard she tried, her thoughts kept drifting over to Dewey. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Letting her sleep in his bed, cuddling up with her, doing the little things like making her coffee- that had to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>something </span>
  </em>
  <span>right? She wasn’t crazy when she watched him choke on his words, or cuddle up with her when they had late nights, but why wouldn’t he say anything? If she knew anything it was that he loved the limelight; he never would give up the opportunity to say what he wanted to. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>These thoughts plagued her as she found her bag and pulled out her clothes, going to the bathroom to change. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Why was he doing all of this if he didn’t like her? She couldn’t be crazy about this. It made sense, she just couldn’t fathom why he hadn’t spoken up yet. Was it her fault? Did she mess up in some way? Or scare him? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She brushed through her long onyx hair till it was frazzled and static, with trembling hands she buttoned her blouse and put on the rest of her attire. She looked in the mirror, trying a smile. Why was she anxious? She knew what she wanted. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He </span>
  </em>
  <span>was the one giving mixed signals. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a huff, she finished getting ready; tying up her distressed ebony locks, putting on her usual makeup, and straightening up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She shouldn’t be worried. The ball was in his court. And she always had solutions for his awol decisions. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Eventually, she  found herself back at the counter, scrolling through the newest batch of emails, trying so hard to distract herself as Dewey had walked in. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At the use of his odd petname, she rolled her eyes, giving a wry grin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh how I wish you would stop calling me that.” She deadpanned, before continuing.  “But yes, I am. Zack texted back finally. He’ll meet us there.” She spoke, grabbing her bag and walking out with him, being sure to lock the door behind him as she always did. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They got in the car, and she stole a few glances. He always did clean up well, but she knew that the moment he came to Horace Green, but when thing she could never grasp was why he was so excitable in the mornings. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But as the drive started and went on, the minutes passed, him blaring some rock music, much to her disdain- as anyone would have at eight thirty on a Saturday.  Her thoughts went south; she wanted to ask him, to question as to why he chose last night to sleep with her. Why he even invited her in the first place. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Was she being naive? Did he even want her? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Just as she opened her mouth to speak, he continued singing along happily. She couldn’t interrupt him. She’d talk about it later, and be left alone with her thoughts for now. </span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>As they pulled into the parking lot he turned off the blaring music before turning to face her. “Hey, while I’m working with Zack would you mind checking to see if anyone else needs help before practice. I wanna make sure everyone is ready before the concert.” He gave her a nervous chuckle and nodded at her reply.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you Summer, you’re the best.” He gave her a pat on the shoulder before grabbing his guitar and getting out. “I will meet you inside.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Why was he so awkward all of the sudden? It was one night of sleeping in the bed together. Nothing else happened. A sigh left him as he went inside, finding Zack already there, strumming away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “That sounds good, maybe put some emotion into it.” He gave a small chuckle setting his case down and getting his guitar out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know I always put emotions into it Dewey.” The boy joked back, pushing the few curls that had fallen in his face out of the way. As he was about to go on with another snarky comment his phone buzzed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He cocked his head, surprised to see yet another message from Summer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>‘Hey, can you see if Dewey likes anyone? Can you see if he likes me? Don't be weird about it!’ </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A small stifled laugh left him as he looked over at the mess of a man, he couldn't believe Summer liked him. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Dewey Finn</span>
  </em>
  <span> out of all people. They were unconventional to say the least, always at each other’s throats, but almost the entire band would agree that the two belonged together. But how was he going to do this? He couldn't bring it up casually. That's when it clicked in his mind.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey Dewey, I’ve got a question. If you like someone, how do you deal with it?” The younger boy asked as he saw Dewey physically tense. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, normally I try and do nice things for them. If I'm being honest I’m not the best at letting people know I like them. I mean I kissed Ms. Mullins on our first date...” He admitted as he started to tune his guitar. He bit his bottom lip as he  concentrated on the task at hand.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why ya asking bud?” He questioned not taking his eyes off the tuner. Was he on to him? Did Summer think he had a crush on her? Was he being too nice?</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>“Oh just curious." Right, like that was the only reason."So, ya like anyone </span><em><span>right</span></em> <em><span>now</span></em><span>?” </span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A sigh left Dewey as he glanced over to Zack. What was with all these questions?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I kinda like someone. Is this like a man to man talk? You goin' through somethin'?” He joked, before realizing he sealed his own grave- what if they did figure out? He strummed his guitar finally satisfied with how it tune it sounded. “Now come on let's get to work, we don’t have much time till band practice.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The younger boy let out a sigh as they started to get to work. Why would Summer ask him to do this? Couldn't she do these  things on her own?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The hour and a half soon passed and they got ready for the other band members to show up. Dewey focused on setting everything up trying not to think about those questions Zack had asked him. Was he on to him? No that wouldn't be possible, Summer didn't know and neither did Zack.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So who do you like?” The question came out from the boy's mouth and made him stop in his tracks, he turned to face him and gave a small laugh. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Zack, that's personal information. Also, why the hell do you care? ”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The kid rolled his eyes at the man and sighed. He really was dragging this on? He owed Summer. He couldn't just  give up after what she had done for him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know the whole band already knows who you like right? It’s so obvious dude. I just wanna get the money from the bet. Whoever gets you to say it out loud first gets twenty bucks.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What!? No you are not using my secrets to win any money! Go get ready for practice or something.”</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>When he turned to her, shutting off the eardrum-bursting music, she put a small grin on, hoping she could mask her worries so as not to scare away the man. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He leaned close as he asked the question-it was unintentional at best, but she couldn’t beat the heat that bled to her cheeks as he gave her a sincere grin, patting her on the arm before getting out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah-yeah, no problem!” She called, uncaring if he was out of earshot or not. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He walked in with a stiffness, leaving her still sitting in the car, trying to compose herself so as not to appear any less off her game than she already was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She straightened, brushing her hair out of the way as she took a breath. Then, as if possessed by another being, she picked up her phone. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Finding the contact she was looking for -and one she deemed she could trust- she messaged. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hey Zack, can you see if Dewey likes anyone? Don't be weird about it! Can you just see if he likes me?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She sent it. Before she could even rationalize, she sent the message. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But Who would Zack tell? He owed her after a few mishaps with missing practices. And she had enough dirt on him to keep him quiet. She was curious is all, and if Dewey didn’t like her, that would be perfectly fine. She could move on and manage the band as she did before. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>But if he did..</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She shook her head, getting out of the car and away from it all; the complex feelings now piling on her and weighing her down. She nearly ran into the school, only her laptop and phone in hand- documents now long forgotten. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She set up in the extra practice room for the time being, hoping to ignore any thoughts about the night or the character that was her employer. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But her mind just kept pushing. Zack </span>
  <em>
    <span>still </span>
  </em>
  <span>hadn’t responded. And he was good about that. Unless they were talking more about it now? No, this was silly. The lesson probably commenced, they probably laughed at her and Dewey would tease her about it in no time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her heart physically ached at the idea, but she wasn’t going to let it slow her. She was overthinking. She had things to do, and wouldn’t let some silly crush be the reason she didn’t complete her work. Besides, it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>Dewey;</span>
  </em>
  <span> He didn’t know what he wanted half the time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She would just have to try harder. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The hour passed, and she watched her bandmates file into the room with obnoxious chatter-typical of them, no respect for the other workers in the building. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She walked in, heartache masked behind a confident layer of determination. She greeted everyone, instructing each player and participant on what to do so none had an idle moment. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And neither did she. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was better this way. She could focus on her new plan later, but for now, she had to look professional and stay on the ball. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But maybe double checking wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She walked over to Zack and Dewey, greeting them as she normally did. “Hey, how’d the practice go? You ready for the battle?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The exchange was short, as Dewey knew that he had to prepare too, which left her with an already paling Zack. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In a hushed tone she started. “What did he say? Why didn’t you respond?” she hissed, nearly nose to nose with the poor confidant. “Remember Mooneyham, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>owe me.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  </span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>"Practice went great Summer." Zack gave her a slight glare, as Dewey nodded in agreement.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"We have to get ready for the full band practice now, so Zack get ready." The older man looked at him before walking away, his cheeks turning a slight red. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Summer was on to him, she had to be.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"He wouldn't spill anything Summer, but it's obvious he likes you. Are you that oblivious?" Zack questioned with a small snicker. "And I didn't respond because I was busy </span>
  <em>
    <span>practicing</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and getting him to talk. If you want anything done you might as well ask him yourself, coward." he teased before meeting her glare and backing down. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You do realize you'd have better luck getting it out of him."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And with that the boy walked away getting ready for practice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dewey was doing everything in his power to be far away from Summer, he put a fair amount of distance between. The entire band practiced his mind elsewhere. He couldn't stop thinking about her and the fact the whole band knew.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With each new song, he would shift uncomfortably and try to simply distract himself. But that would only work for so long. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Alright, everyone let's take a five minute break. Zack, can I talk to you outside?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When the boy followed him outside he pulled out his wallet with a sigh. "Fine, so you can brag about it and be cool. I kinda like Summer." The man pulled a twenty from his wallet and handed it to him. "Don't tell her got it?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Heck yeah! Thanks Dewey, and of course. She can figure it out on her own." Zack laughed a little as they made their way back inside. He couldn't help but have a big grin on his face having won the “bet”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dewey on the other hand tapped his foot anxiously as he waited for everyone to get to their places for practice. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once it had begun again his eyes would flicker over to the younger girl. She didn't know right? Zack wouldn't mention it would he?</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>"I'm not!- I'm not oblivious,Zack. But I'm also not gonna make a fool of myself and ask him." She spat, letting him go. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever, you’re useless.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was back to square one; Dewey seemed anxious, Zack was little to no help, and she didn’t have anyone else to ask for help. With a small groan of frustration the girl straightened up and went to the table in the back to work and ponder. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nearly a half an hour passed before she looked up to see Dewey moving erratically and rigidly along the band. He barely spoke, and when he did, not one joke was cracked. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Strange </span>
  </em>
  <span>for the constantly excitable man, she thought. But just as she went on to think about what could have him so worried, he called a break.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everyone went their separate ways, and Dewey made a beeline for the door- followed by none other than </span>
  <em>
    <span>Zack.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Whatever was going on, she knew she needed to find out, but that could wait. She couldn’t go right up and eavesdrop, she was smarter than that. But curiosity itched her as she tried to work through the break; </span>
  <em>
    <span>What could be so important? Was Zack getting in trouble for the questions? </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was about to grab her phone, to see what could be keeping them, but as she did so, the two walked right back in- Zack looking thrilled as he crammed some unseen item into his pocket. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The players sat down, and their teacher’s demeanor was the same, eyes darting about nervously, tapping his foot nearly against the rhythm. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Throughout the noise, Summer worked. She couldn’t get distracted by something so miniscule, she could just ask Zack or Dewey later, she’d figure something out- she always did. </span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>It seemed as if time flew by for Dewey and everyone was packing up to go home. "Remember to practice! Battle of the bands is in a day, you know we have to knock it out of the park!" He said with an anxious grin on his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now he had to go and be alone with Summer again. What would happen? He couldn't be an awkward anxious mess around her all the time. She would start to question him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Tomorrow I wanna hear some amazing music, you've gotta knock my socks off." Dewey said with a snicker at his own unfunny joke as he noticed some of the kids rolling their eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Hey! Don't roll your eyes Freddie, I’lll make you do Summer's job." The man joked once again, trying to hide those other thoughts and feelings creeping in the back of his mind. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He hummed a tune as he walked over to Summer with a small anxious smile. "Hey. So later I've gotta tell you some weird questions Zack asked during our one on one." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He always shared everything with her, even if she would catch on to his "little" crush. She was his best friend, so deserved to know these things. The thought of telling her made his heart beat faster and his pale cheeks turned a pinkish color. She couldn't catch on that quickly? Summer was oblivious to some things, this was one of them. Right?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once the place was empty and it was just the two of them he decided to start in on that conversation. "So Zack asked me if I like anyone, and apparently the band has some bet going on right now about who I like." He spoke, an anxious laugh leaving him as he scratched the back of his neck.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He looked at her watching her every move seeing how she would react. Nothing seemed to change, though his face felt hotter with every word. "Are you in on that? Who do you think I like? Cause apparently it's a bunch of different people." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Those were some lies.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Picking up his guitar he listened to her every word as they left the building and headed over to his van. He set his guitar in the back before getting in and looking over at the girl who was always in shotgun.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A small half smile came to his face as he nodded when she finished speaking.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>As everyone packed up, Summer made sure to check with each and every person, to see if </span>
  <em>
    <span>they </span>
  </em>
  <span>were prepared. The look of panic told her more than enough, so with slight scolding and a few minor threats, most of them were rushing out to finish last minute things, that- by her judgement- should have been done weeks ago. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But they left, and knew they had work to do if they wanted to win, so she held a bit of faith as the last musician left, leaving her alone with Dewey yet again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As he walked over, she made it a point to pack up hurriedly, for fear of being roped into a conversation she wasn’t ready for. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Hey, you'll definitely have to. He always has </span>
  <em>
    <span>something </span>
  </em>
  <span>to say." She remarked smiling to herself at the half-hearted joke. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Was he onto her? Did Zack say too much? She prayed that the conversation wasn't anything too serious…maybe he found something else funny. Maybe she was reading too much into it. Besides, it wasn’t like Mr. Finn </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew </span>
  </em>
  <span>she liked him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She wasn't stupid, there had to be something up. The way he seemed to be constantly on edge all day told her that much. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once everything was put away and ready for the next practice, they started out to the van. She wrapped her scarf tightly around her jacket and fit on her hat before pushing open the doors as they conversed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But as soon as he uttered that sentence, her cheeks paled, and her little heart dropped. "W-what? That's ridiculous."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>to know. He wasn't stupid, he had to know what she had been plotting. Was she going to get in trouble? Was he angry at her?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She had to play dumb, it was her only saving grace against the mortification. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"No,</span>
  <em>
    <span> they're doing that?</span>
  </em>
  <span> That's crazy.." she grinned, hoping to tune out the thumping in her ears "Is it someone in the band?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She prayed the answer would be one she wanted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But he didn’t even respond, instead, he just set his guitar in its case and waited for her to hop in before turning on the music again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Did she say something wrong? He wasn't encouraging her to go after him, was he? No! He was clueless! The likelihood that he wanted some little girl he met in the fifth grade was strictly fiction.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>He heard her loud and clear, but nothing came out of him. Not a single word. He wanted to slam his face in the steering wheel. Idiot. He was an idiot. She was smart, she had to know that he liked her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But how could he discourage it? It was obviously wrong, and neither of them could afford trouble. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The ride was silent for the most part, besides the music and his muttered singing. He felt that awkward tension start to grow as he pulled up to the apartment and sighed looking at her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Yeah it's someone in the band, but you can't go around tellin' people that." He admitted  hoping that would end the conversation and get rid of that god-awful tension. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He got out quickly scurrying to the back and grabbing his guitar and quickly going up to his apartment. She knew now, there was now doubt about it, she had to know. What would this do to their friendship? Thoughts started to race through his mind as his hands started to shake slightly as he unlocked the door and walked inside. He set the case down turning to face the small girl that followed him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “So the battle is soon. Are you nervous?” He asked a bit jokingly, trying to change the subject.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That's what he needed to focus on was the battle, not his feelings towards her right now. Those feelings could come to light another day. “I know I am a bit nervous but we have won almost every single year, so I am sure we will be fine.” The man let out a nervous laugh running a hand through his hair. “Also are you staying the night again? I can order in tonight. Great, I'll get on that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn't even wait for her to reply before he shuffled away to the kitchen quickly. Once he was alone he let out a loud sigh before placing his head against the wall with a groan. He needed to calm down a bit around her. She had to find out about his crush now soon, Zack knew and word travels fast through the band. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He shook his head getting these thoughts to go away before ordering some to go food from one of the many take out places they enjoyed. Of course he always knew her favorite meal, she had stayed over enough for him to know it by heart.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once the order was placed he made his way into the living room, stopping for a moment to see her there. She looked a bit nervous as well. What could be on her mind? Must have been the whole manager thing. That's all it had to be, nothing else. He stood there still watching her, those puppy love feelings coming back to him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was perfect, so perfect. His heart started to beat louder, he was sure she could probably hear it. He padded his way over to her being his awkward self as usual, still checking out every little detail about her. “So I got some food.” He stared at her for a moment, those thoughts not leaving his mind. Would he mess up if he made a move? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, ya got a hair out o' place.” The man  tucked the loose strand behind her ear with a slight smile.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>It was silent for far too long. That by the time they reached the corner, Summer was ready to say something, </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything </span>
  </em>
  <span>to break the heavy silence that weighed on them both. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Just as she went to speak, to apologize for whatever she had said to make it weird, he spoke.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>'</span>
  <em>
    <span>It's someone in the band.'</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her heart leapt, causing a stifled grin to form on her face. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Maybe it was her. Maybe she had a shot. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But by the time she opened her mouth to respond, he was out of the car and walking up the stairs to his apartment. She followed after, putting the leather strap of her old bag along her shoulder as she picked up her pace. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She didn't fully catch up, until they got to his apartment. Shutting the door, and plopping on the couch promptly, she listened to what he inquired. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Barely.</span>
  </em>
  <span> I know this stuff like the back of my hand after all." She retorted, stealing a glance. "What about you?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before they could have much more of a conversation, he was going on another tangent...something about staying over she thought? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But with little exchange, he was gone, and she was left sitting on the couch baffled by half the conversation. Nearly ten minutes ago they had been talking about who he liked, and now, he was off in the other room and she sat there dumbfounded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But a little voice in the back of her head wouldn't leave her alone; what if she messed up? What if he liked someone else? What if he didn't want her to like him? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a deep breath, she stayed grounded. There was no use worrying, especially when she felt so close to knowing what he had to say. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was only when soft thumps got closer to her that she looked up to see Dewey towering above her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Hey," she greeted with her usual persed grin. "Thanks for getting food, believe it or not, I don't think I remembered to eat lunch today."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Worry flickered in his eye at her mention of that, and it didn't do anything but make her heart ache. One way or another, he did care. She knew that much.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But instead of continuing on the subject they had once again established, gears appeared to be turning behind those big woodsy eyes he bore. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He bent down, getting close, before just pushing a strand behind her ear. And while she couldn’t deny the pink hue that decided to take presence, she was expecting something a bit different. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She felt so dumb. Of course that was such a dumb thing to think; that </span>
  <em>
    <span>he</span>
  </em>
  <span> would ever want to kiss her, especially so suddenly. Dewey Finn was the most impulsive person she has met, but even he wouldn’t do something that bold. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Uhm- Th-thanks. I didn't even notice." She gave a half-hearted chuckle.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>“Ha yeah, no need to thank me.” He spoke in a quieter voice. They were so close, she was close to him. One thing he noticed about her when they got this close was how nice she always smelled. To him she smelled like fresh flowers of some sort, she also smelled sweet like candy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A dazed look slowly came to his face as he stared into her dark eyes, before his own eyes moved down to her lips. So soft and pink and plump, she was so kissable. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No. He couldn't do that to her, he could not kiss her. She was just a kid and he was an adult, he couldn't make a move on her. Maybe when she was twenty, but he wasn't sure if he was still like her at that point.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Even with those thoughts screaming in his head he couldn't help himself and think of her in that way once again. One kiss wouldnt harm anyone right? No one had to know, it might help him get over her. She was right there, it was possible. Why was he holding back with her? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn't hold back with Mullins, with Summer though he got stage fright over the thought of ever kissing her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Just as that boost of confidence started to hit him like a truck the doorbell rang and the moment was ruined just as quickly as it started. “That must be the food.” He mutters going to the door a small annoyed sigh leaving him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was about to do it, the damn delivery man just had to show up now. He paid the man and brought the food over to the couch flopping down next to her. “I got your favorite like always, now eat up. You need to stop putting lunch off. Lunch is important and you gotta try and grow to at least surpass a few of the middle schoolers.” He joked with a small laugh and poked her tiny stomach.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The rest of the night passed like normal, they chatted about the battle as well as other upcoming events, then they went to bed. Once again he invited her to sleep with him again, to his surprise she agreed.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Author's Note: What follows is a roleplay between BugBreaths and myself, SpookyTsubaki. They are playing Dewey and I am playing Summer. Because of the nature of roleplay, the point of view changes often and you will see each event as it was perceived by our renditions of these characters. It's being posted here so that we can have a comprehensive archive to look back on and reread easily rather than having to dig through messages and docs. Be warned going forward that this story may never have a clean or concise ending as that is not the point of roleplay.</p><p>All this being said, please do enjoy.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The battle came sooner than expected to Dewey. The morning was spent rushing around with Summer making sure everything was ready, while he also made sure everyone was in their costumes they wore. This was always the worst of it, the storm before the amazing time they had on stage playing their hearts out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dewey had changed into his costume putting on the last little bit which included his tie. Though he was having trouble doing anything before the battle, it was like this every year though, he would get anxious and serious and try to get ready. Before soon giving up with the tie due to his shaking hands, he would then ask his little friend to help him.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey Summer could you-” Before he could finish his question he felt her already start to fix it and grinned slightly to find her there. He started to feel what he felt before, that close feeling with her. “Thanks.” He murmured with an anxious laugh. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They were close again, she was already done. Why didn't she walk away? He could hear his heart beat in his ears as he leaned closer, maybe this time he could-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“DEWEY! ZACK NEEDS YOU!” Katie yelled, making him jump and back away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Be right there! I'll uh- see you after the concert.” He said to her quickly patting her head before scurrying away to help Zack with whatever he needed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Damn Zack. Damn delivery man. He had two chances now and something always had to get in the way of him kissing Summer.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>The day of the battle came before she could even process the entire day prior. She woke up in Dewey's bed once again, cradled in his arms and in another one of his old t's. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But as soon as her alarm went off, she was up and shot out of a canon. Shaking the man to her side to get up, she already had a few moments to process waking up. She was ready for the battle, no silly crush would slow her down today.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She grabbed her clothing she had made sure to keep in case of impromptu sleepovers, and made a beeline to the bathroom.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Steam filled the bathroom as she turned on the shower and hopped right in- she had to make sure to time it just right so they both had hot water after all, and she refused to skip one more day of showering. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Scrubbing off the sleep as she lathered her messy raven bedhead in some cheap stolen hotel shampoo, she hummed, letting the hot water hit like a million pellets against her back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In the short time the girl had to shower, she let her mind wander slightly, to Dewey; to how her closest friend was now the root of these muddled feelings that distracted her from all her responsibilities.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Why now? She couldn’t afford to think like that. If he got any of the wrong ideas, he might fire her. Yet the little fire of yearning that burned inside her refused to be extinguished.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>To rid herself of such pesky ideals, she turned the water to icy cold, immediately making her shut it off and hop out to dry off. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She changed, brushed and put up her hair, put on a touch of makeup and sauntered out of the bathroom to see Dewey firmly planted at the island in the kitchen, slowly nursing a cup of coffee. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After eons of bickering with him to get ready and hustle, they were soon out the door and in the band, some band blasting as white noise to their silence. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It'd been awkward since yesterday afternoon when they had driven home. Maybe he was stressed. Sure, he had said he liked </span>
  <em>
    <span>someone </span>
  </em>
  <span>in the band, but knowing Dewey, and his tall tales she refused to put much weight into his words.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As soon as they walked in, the band was bombarding them with questions left and right. '</span>
  <em>
    <span>Where does the microphone need to be?' 'Why can't I find the missing piece of my costume?' 'Are we doing the usual after-party?'</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But this was where Summer </span>
  <em>
    <span>thrived</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Orders were given, they waited patiently for her next command as she went through the list of who and what still needed a place. That was done in a breeze, and she was of course prepared, which left one thing- Dewey. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>From the time they walked in, she had barely exchanged a word with him. They always said good-luck, and had their own pre-show ritual: talking and calming the other's nerves. So naturally, to keep the right order of things, she sought him out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It didn’t take much scouting, as she soon found him fighting with his tie in the makeshift dressing room. With a small smile to herself, she leaned against the door, entertained by his antics before going over to help him</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Hey, I thought we covered this last time. Are you always this forgetful?" She chastised, but her impish smile barely matched the tone. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She fixed the tie, and for once, stayed where she was. Hands resting against his chest as her eyes closed for a few sacred moments. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maybe now was a good time to talk, after all, they </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>have a few moments in between right? There was no harm, but as those deep hazelnut eyes looked up, she saw he'd leaned in.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her cheeks had deepened a shade, but thank God, Katie was there to the rescue, bringing up more mishaps that'd inevitably occurred while she had left the teenagers to their own devices. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dewey backed away, taking one last glance before </span>
  <em>
    <span>patting her on the head</span>
  </em>
  <span>. If it wasn't the midst of their biggest gig, she would've had a few words on the matter, but now was not the time. So she simply nodded and followed the distressed band member to see what had happened now.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Dewey had found his lead guitar played looking guilty as ever and he couldn't help but start to worry. "Zack what's wrong?" He asked knowing a million things could go wrong before they were about to perform.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I was tuning my guitar, and I snapped one of the strings." The boy spoke showing Dewey the guitar with a sheepish look. "Sorry Dewey."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a sigh trying not to let his emotions get the best of him. It was an accident. It was fixable. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"It's fine, it's fixable. While I'm fixing that go find something to do." He dismissed, as he tapped his foot, a nervous tic he'd picked up long ago.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man grabbed the guitar and quickly ran out to his van. Only having so little time to fix Zack's problem, he was lucky there was another band still going on before them. The entire time he worked on fixing the guitar his whole body was tense. Pre-show emotions always got the best of him, but this just topped it all off.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was clear he shouldn't be messed with too much at the moment. His clenched jaw, small curses shooting from his mouth, as he fiddled with the coarse strings</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once the guitar was fixed and tuned he made his way back inside handing it to the boy. "Do </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> try and tune it. It's already turned, and I don't need you breaking another string. Got it?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All he got was a nod from Zack and he gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Cool, now go sit down with everyone else and wait for us to go on." That serious tone rang on that was only heard on occasion. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dewey was never one to lose his cool before a performance, or to snap at the kids, it was always a calm seriousness that came out right before a show. Or when one of them broke something just as they were about to go on.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While yes he was over the top with his yelling, that was never anger towards them. They didn't need all that weight on their shoulders yet. That'd been their entire life before they joined the band. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He walked over to his group making sure everyone was there, including his manager. "Hey! We are about to go on after them, listen up! Now you know we've got this, we are a crowd favorite. Remember to have fun guys, like I say every year this isn't always about winning-"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Yes it is!" Freddie chimed in as the band laughed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Alright sometimes it is, but we wanna be the cool band that doesn't think that. Now hands in. Let's go out there, shred their faces and boast at the afterparty.  Good luck! And School of Rock on three. One. Two. Three."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"SCHOOL OF ROCK!"</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Summer followed him out, before grimacing at the sight of the gnarled string. After years and years of things like this happening, </span>
  <em>
    <span>she </span>
  </em>
  <span>was a pro at keeping her emotions in check and simply fixing the problem, yelling at the antagonizer later. Dewey, however, was not as prepared as she was and looked about ready to have an aneurysm at the sight of the string.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"It's okay. We can fix it." She murmured, placing a hand on his back as he gave an exasperated sigh. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a short exchange the former teacher was bolting out to his car, while she stayed keeping everyone in check. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Microphones and stands were checked. Lights were a go. The song list was printed- after a few close calls of losing it. They were all set. Now all they needed to do was go on. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She kept the players fairly quiet as they sat against the stage wall, waiting anxiously for their band leader to get back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Just in the nick of time, there he was, running faster than she had ever seen, he greeted them giving specific instructions of what </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>to do. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"It worked out?" She inquired following Dewey as she always did when he tried to avoid questions or any conversation for that matter. "Nothing too serious?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Of course she got some mumbled response before they walked back over to the rest of the group. The applause rang as the last band left, it was their turn now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Summer hated to admit it, but occasionally, she did get cold feet. They all worked so hard, losing was decidedly not an option for them. So with a deep breath, she stood dutifully by Dewey, and listened to each word before they hustled in for their rallying cry. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They put their hands in as they crammed together, the new crowding nearly crushing her into Dewey's chest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After the cheer, the players went on, and she watched in awe. Even after years of this, the finished product was always the best. Hovering close to the curtain, clutching her clipboard she watched as the show commenced. </span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>When their song came to an end Dewey had the biggest look of joy on his face. No matter how many times he did this he always loved it. The cheering, the clapping, the crowd surfing. He was living out his dream and nothing was gonna change that now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Thank you for being such amazing fans! You know us, you love us! We are the school of rock!" He yelled into the microphone getting the crowd to yell even louder as they all made their way off the stage.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You guys were amazing like always! Katie, you crushed that solo! Freddie, nice job on the drums. Zack, always killing it even after breaking a string! And my back up singers, do you guys get better over night!?" He exclaimed as they walked off, before seeing his little manager, standing by and waiting. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Thanks for being an awesome manager." He gave her a small wink. "Now, everyone hush and go watch the rest of the bands. We may have won but we wanna be respectful." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This year there were more bands that tried out and that meant more competition. Dewey did love to win, he wanted to win more than anything. But right now all he felt was elated, not a care in the world if they won or not.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In no time, the last band played for the night as they all waited anxiously for the results to be called. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dewey was anxiously tapping his foot as he stood next to Summer. Hopeful that they would win as he grabbed her hand. He felt her squeeze his hand as a small flash of worry reflected in those dark eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was his rock. Summer always seemed to be in the right place at the right time. Even now she was there and he was thankful.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"And the winner of this year's </span>
  <em>
    <span>Battle of the Bands </span>
  </em>
  <span>is: The School of Rock!" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For a moment he stood there, starstruck as the words finally hit him. He saw the kids screaming and jumping up and down, before turning to Summer. "We won!" He yelled before grabbing her and spinning her around in a hug. "We won! We won! We won!" He yelled over and over as a happy laugh left him.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>The song she knew so well eventually came to an end, just as scripted. All had run smoothly. The band rushed off, their lead singer looking sweaty and elated as ever. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sauntering over, not tempting a hug yet, she greeted him happily. "Hey, that was perfect as usual, that extra practice came in handy." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But something was different, he </span>
  <em>
    <span>winked at her. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Her heart nearly skipped a beat at it, before he just walked out, Shushing everyone as they walked out to settle in the crowd.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It took a few moments to get her to catch up, as she fought to pale the red in her cheeks before walking out to her spot- always next to Dewey. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Did I miss much? We have about two bands left until results." She spoke barely above a whisper. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His eyes stayed glued to the stage, watching each performance and undoubtedly getting ideas for next year's Battle. It was endearing, in a sense, watching deep brown eyes light up with excitement, this was definitely his spark. He looked </span>
  <em>
    <span>so happy</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Part of her wanted to freeze this moment in time and save it forever. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But she couldn’t. Those were things a girlfriend thought, and things a girlfriend </span>
  <em>
    <span>did.</span>
  </em>
  <span> She wasn't his, she was only the manager of an after-school band. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The thoughts dragged out until the very last moment when one man came up on stage to announce who had won this year. She looked up, and saw Dewey, biting his lip in hesitation. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As if through second nature, she grabbed his hand and gave it a small squeeze, wearing a reassuring smile when he looked over for a boost of confidence.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They were always in each other's corner. Nobody got in the way; Summer and Dewey against the world. It was always that way. It would stay that way, or so she hoped. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The next few moments flew by, and before she knew it, everyone around her was cheering and jostling her. She turned to Dewey and was picked up in a hug. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She shrieked with excitement, as he heaved her up, making her giggle and cheer along with the band. They did it. The work had paid off. Besides, everyone looked so happy now, she did alright this time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The band rushed on, as well as the crew to take a bow, and as much as the teenager loved the limelight, she stayed back, watching the encore performance, once again making sure it ran  smoothly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Of course it did, no strings broke, no voices warbled, and nobody got hurt. It was quick- the last performance was always quick as everyone was in a rush to get out of there and head to the party.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The band rushed off, and to their respective instrument cases as she went to the front to fill out paperwork for the prize, it always went like this; sign the paper, forge his signature, and meet out back with him after the band did a thirty minute meet and greet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The routine started up once again, and before she knew it, she was out back, waiting for the band as she checked the time. Dewey's van was started, and now she tapped her foot impatiently as people started to file out. </span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Dewey was once again being slow with getting out to the van, mostly being bombarded with people congratulating him and the band for the win, which was normal but he was excited for the after party, to just hang out with everyone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once he was done talking to people he ran to the van finding his impatient manager standing there waiting for him. "I'm coming! I'm coming! Let's start heading to the after party." He hopped in the van waiting for her to get in before driving away to the after party.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The drive of course included the other band members singing along to the songs, as they always caught a ride with him. And a very excited Dewey that cranked the radio all the way up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As he drove along he got an idea that would be a horrible decision but the band deserved it. They could handle it. They were practically adults now anyway. He pulled up to the liquor store and parked the van and leaned over to Summer. "Make sure everyone stays here, I'll be right back." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He got out walking inside heading to the cooler and grabbing a two packs of beer then going to the register. This was going to be a fun night. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He paid for the beer then went back to the van and drove away, everyone singing their hearts out as the night went on. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When they got to his apartment for the party he parked the van and followed everyone inside. Mostly staying by Summer as he did. "So are you gonna drink or you gonna be the responsible one?" He asked setting the beer down before grabbing one and offering it to her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He rolled his eyes as she started to give a reason as to why she wouldn't drink.  "Tinkerbell, come on. It will be fine. We are at my place and you can crash here if you get shit faced. What's the worst that can happen?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He grabbed his own beer and opened it with a satisfying pop before taking a long sip. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Trust me, it will be fun." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When she finally agreed a big grin came to his face, excited to see Summer drunk, but also happy to see her loosening up a bit.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He always thought she was a hard ass, but deep down she could have fun. He knew that, he had seen it once or twice, and either way he liked her. Sometimes he needed the laid back fun time Summer.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>In the chilled temperature, she rubbed her arms and exhaled the visible breath, before at long last, seeing Dewey come down the flights of stairs, two at a time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Could you have taken </span>
  <em>
    <span>any</span>
  </em>
  <span> longer? Come on, we gotta be there first, you're hosting!" She chastised as she buckled up next to him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Eventually, they hit the road, driving the blocks she knew by heart to the apartment. She was excited, but equally tired, maybe it'd be a quick get together then she could head home. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was then, that they took an unexpected turn. The pulled into the parking lot of some 24 hour Mart, across from it a liquor store. Nothing unusual, Dewey did always stash up on snacks for parties and mainly himself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A frown slid onto her features as he went into the liquor store instead. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What was he doing? </span>
  </em>
  <span>He and Ned had drinks at home- granted none of the beer liked was stocked, but why now?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her questions were answered shortly when he came out with two packages of drinks. He couldn't be serious right now. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Drinks? At a teenage party?</span>
  </em>
  <span> It was a recipe for disaster. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"What's that?" She questioned when he got in, but he merely shot a glance her way, before turning up the music and driving home. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everyone filed out, but she wallowed in the back, waiting to question why the adult would make such a ridiculous decision. But when he saw her expression, instead of trying to explain it, he just went about teasing!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She walked over to the counter with him, as the music was turned on. When he offered a bottle, the frown she wore only deepened. "Are you nuts? Bringing drinks to a party like this? None of us can drink yet and-"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He cut her off, taking a swig of his own before he offered her a bottle again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Fine. Hand it over." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Reluctantly, she agreed, taking it and opening it after a bit of trial and error. The smell itself made her grimace in disgust, how could anyone like this? Nevertheless, she took a swig and felt the icy buzz settle into her mind. Swallowing hard, she looked up to be greeted by his look of excitement. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You're far too happy about this. I've had a drink </span>
  <em>
    <span>before</span>
  </em>
  <span>." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her words fell of deaf ears though, or so she thought as he flung some lame excuse her way before the other members came over to get their own. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maybe it'd be okay...maybe she would just have a little bit and then would keep an eye on everyone else. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So with one last glance around, Summer chanced another sip of the cheap, bitter drink; an icy sensation settling in as she nursed the bottle  while leaning against the counter, watching the party descend to madness. </span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>As the party went on a game of seven minutes in heaven had been started by none other than Zack. He had something up his sleeve though as he dragged Dewey Finn to the circle of kids. “Come on, just play a few rounds. It's not like you are gonna make out with anyone.” He joked with the older man and gave his arm a gentle punch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The older man sat in the circle sipping on his beer, now a few drinks in, his cheeks a pinkish color as they started the first round. He watched semi amused as two of the band members went into a closet and came out about seven minutes later nothing seemed to happen between them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>What a childish game, he thought to himself as his eyes wandered over to Summer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was definitely drunk or at least tipsy at this point, her rosy cheeks and goofy smile gave it away, as well as how she nursed on the beer barley paying attention to the game that was happening at the time. What would happen if they got put into the closet together? A sheepish grin came to his face as he continued to think about it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Would they kiss or do more? He bit his lip not realizing a thing that was going on until his name was yelled loudly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man quickly looked up to see Zack staring at him and his cheeks became a dark red. “W-what?” He sputtered out with an awkward laugh having not heard a word the boy said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You and Summer are up, get in the closet.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man's eyes widened more as he looked down at his beer. This could not be happening. Holy shit it was happening. He chugged the last little bit of his beer before standing up a bit wobbly and stumbled walked his way into the closest followed by the younger girl.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The door was closed and locked and the time had started. All he had to do now was last seven minutes with her, that was it. Nothing could go wrong in seven minutes. He licked his lips before swallowing as his heart started to beat faster. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Thump. Thump. Thump.</span>
  </em>
  <span> That was all he could hear at the moment in his ears. Why was he this nervous to be in a closet with her, drunk, it was fine nothing was happening. Nothing would happen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dewey looked down at the younger girl with a small smile as he tried to think of anything to talk about. “I'm kinda glad I brought the beer, I was thinking it would make the party more fun.” He admitted with a small chuckle. “Glad to see you are getting into the spirit of it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this way before. Good thing you can crash at my place right?” He asked scratching the back of his neck with a sigh. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>What was he doing? Why did he have to be so awkward around her?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It's kinda tight fit in here, good thing you're so tiny.” He joked, noticing how close they were to each other. Faces too close for comfort. Maybe he could get that kiss now and get it over with, it wouldn't be so bad.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>As the party lagged on, Summer did loosen up slightly on her third drink as she mingled and hung around the other band members. Her mind was beyond fuzzy, every motion feeling heavy and less fluid than she intended, but it was only a small price when she got to be around everyone and not have to play grown up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But now she sat in a small circle, tending to her drink as a game of </span>
  <em>
    <span>Seven minutes in Heaven </span>
  </em>
  <span>started up. Whatever she had signed up for was long forgotten as some people got up and left, while others joined. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All was well and fine until Dewey had sat down looking very unsure of what he was being pushed into. Zack, however wore a coy smile and seemed to call the majority of the shots. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>And he knew about Dewey and her. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The little bit of rationality left was whining for her to go, to just get up and try to wind the party down; but part of her was curious. She </span>
  <em>
    <span>wanted </span>
  </em>
  <span>to be pushed into that closet with someone, anyone would do, she just wanted to join in.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So she stayed put as people played and came and left, as she picked at the rough decor along the bottle's label, until she was shaken and spoken to. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Glassy, cherry wood eyes looked up curiously to see faces looking at her with mischievous grins. "Huh? Did I...miss something?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She must've missed </span>
  <em>
    <span>something. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Because before she knew it, she was being crammed into the closet with none other than her former teacher. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before there was any exchange of words, she was face to face with Dewey. Her heart pounded as she looked around for a moment at the change of scenery. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>How were they supposed to play again?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tempting a wobbly step closer, he spoke, but she was hardly aware of what he was saying- Something about buying the drinks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I think it was a good choice. After all, now we're here." She entertained, the slight slur masked between her tiny giggles and speaking. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She pressed her hand against his chest before looking up and flashing a small grin. "We're...supposed to kiss now, right?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obviously they had to do </span>
  <em>
    <span>something.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Whatever happened was just for the sake of the game, she had to remind herself. So, with that, before he spoke, she pressed her lips to his. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As the kiss prolonged itself, her eyes fluttered closed, her curious plush lips opening to experiment with what all could happen. He tasted like beer and some other masked flavor...whatever it was, the combination was intoxicating.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And she was addicted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cheeks now an even deeper shade of pink, matching her swollen lips, she didn't want to waste a minute of this special, dreamlike time. It all felt so </span>
  <em>
    <span>good.</span>
  </em>
  
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>What follows is a roleplay between BugBreaths and myself, SpookyTsubaki. They are playing Dewey and I am playing Summer. Because of the nature of roleplay, the point of view changes often and you will see each event as it was perceived by our renditions of these characters. It's being posted here so that we can have a comprehensive archive to look back on and reread easily rather than having to dig through messages and docs. Be warned going forward that this story may never have a clean or concise ending as that is not the point of roleplay.</p><p>All this being said, please do enjoy.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>She kissed him. She kissed him! His eyes widened as he felt her soft lips against his own,</span>
  <em>
    <span> this was happening</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Without a second thought on his mind, he let his eyes close before kissing her back. She tasted absolutely delicious. It was something of a honey taste, a bitter aftertaste of beer lingering slightly on her tongue and it was the best thing in the world. He couldn't get enough of her. He wanted </span>
  <em>
    <span>more </span>
  </em>
  <span>of her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was then that he paused. What was he doing? She was a kid, he couldn't be doing this, this was wrong. It was all wrong.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He pushed her away and shook his head. "No, we can't do this. You're a kid, this won't work between us." He griped with a sigh as he opened the door and quickly left to his room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man closed the door and locked it, and moved to his bed with a sigh. He fucked up, he really fucked it up. Why did he kiss back? He should have never done that, he should have stopped the kiss right away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A sigh left him as he placed his head in his hands, feeling nothing but fuzzy guilt in his washed up state. How could he? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>How could </span>
  <em>
    <span>she?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zack sat amongst the other kids curious as to what happened, too many pairs of eyes stared at the stunned girl.. Why did Dewey run off? Was Summer alright? He stood up making his way over to the girl pulling her out of the closet gently.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Hey, what happened in there?" He looked around noticing everyone in the room watching them. This was not a thing the whole band needed to know about. "Come on let's go outside." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He guided her out of the apartment and helped her down the stairs in the drunk state and into the cool night. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"So what happened?" He asked helping her sit down on the sidewalk. </span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>It was all a dream. He was kissing back, her mind was filled with a delightful buzz. Her grip tightened on his shirt, as she kissed in earnest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>It was perfect. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Until it wasn't…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Just as she went to take a breath, her face centimeters away from his, he pushed her away. "W-wait what? 'Wus wrong?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With her mind swimming she could barely register why he was leaving. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Did she do something wrong?</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When the door swung open, everybody was staring. Her cheeks were ashen as the reality slowly set in and sobered her up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She kissed him</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Everyone knew. There was no saving herself. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She stood there processing before walking out in a hurry, stumbling along the way as Zack questioned her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I-I dunno...he jus' left." She responded, edging towards the door.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her stomach ached. All the eyes were on her. What if she ruined everything? Everything around her was dizzying. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luckily, Zack was to the rescue. He ushered her outside, the fresh air hitting her hard. As if a switch went off, she heaved, bile and the small amount of food going over the side of the steps. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everything was a mess. She was dizzy, a mess of puking and crying, and now  being comforted by a bandmate. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She was such a disappointment. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The only thing that interrupted her roll of self-loathing, was when Zack sat her down on the steps, and spoke. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She must've been a really sorry sight for Zack to be to the rescue. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I...I dunno. I jus' kissed him- for part of the game, and then he left, and now I'm sick, and- oh everyone knows everything now…'' she blubbered nonsensically. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tears streaked her reddened face, little baby hairs slicked alongside her cheeks. She laid her head on Zack's shoulder, as his palm rubbed her back soothingly in circles. </span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Zack made a face watching the poor girl throw up, he had never ever seen her this way. She was breaking right before his eyes. He felt bad for Summer, she always kept her cool. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Christ...how much did you drink Hathaway?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He listened to her mumble on and on feeling worse for her. What did Dewey do to her? The man obviously liked her back so why was </span>
  <em>
    <span>he</span>
  </em>
  <span> now holding the poor crying girl?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A gentle thumb whipped away her tears gently. "Everyone doesn't know everything. Even if people do know, no one is gonna judge you. If anything they’re  gonna ask Dewey what happened. He likes you the same way, so I don't know what the hell his problem is."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The boy felt the slight hinge of anger seeing how his former teacher left her. Summer was the closest thing he had to a sister, he’d known her at her best and now her worst. How could Dewey hurt her like this? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He shook his head with a sigh. "Hey, come on, let's take you home.” Her worry-stricken eyes said it all. “...Or you can crash at my place so your mom doesn't have to see you this way." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Helping her up and over to his car, he got her get in and buckle up. The boy then got in on his side and started his car driving away from Dewey's place.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The boy kept his eyes on the road as the girl started to go on, she was really messed up tonight. Poor thing should have never drank.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He shouldn't have sent them into that closet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dewey Finn broke her, the annoying over the top idiot broke her. There was no coming back from that. Band practice was gonna be hell tomorrow.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>The tears eventually slowed, but not without Zack to help. She shakily got up after composing herself (for the most part), and walked down to the car with him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Thanks." She sniffled, his offer sounded wonderful, and right now, who was she to pass up an opportunity like that? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After buckling up, she rested her head against the window, watching as the city sped by as he drove. The lights were always on here, nobody was ever fully alone. That was something she always found comfort in. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She'd never be fully alone, she could rely on that much. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But that logic only provided so much comfort as the crushing realization settled in her drunken mind. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She kissed him. She was the reason Dewey got mad. She had to be! She kissed him and then he left. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But why did it hurt so much? It was only a game. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was the one who wanted to play, she was the reason it happened. But it ached, so much. The fact that he barely looked at her as he left. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That's when it hit her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As they stopped at a light, she frowned, the realization hitting her hard in her confused, exhausted state. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Oh my god…" she murmured, her slurring voice now warbled and threatening to break. She looked at her friend with sobering brown eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Zack...I love him...I love him </span>
  <em>
    <span>so much</span>
  </em>
  <span>.." she blubbered, tears threatening to spill from those dark, jaded eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She loved him. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Now she might’ve ruined any chance she had with him. Her heart ached as she cried, stunned and perplexed by her new observation. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I love him...why does it hurt so much?"</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>The boy looked over at her a bit shocked by her sudden realization. “Oh shit Summer..” He said with a small pitiful look driving off as the light turned green once again, how could he comfort her? Lie. He had to lie. These two idiots didn’t need everyone in their business.   “I didn’t think you </span>
  <em>
    <span>loved</span>
  </em>
  <span> him.” He muttered with a sigh feeling bad for the girl. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He soon pulled into his driveway and went over to her side helping her out of the car and into the house. “You need to get some water in you, and possibly some food. You can take my bed tonight, I'll sleep on the couch.” He said to the  girl, helping her over to the kitchen table, and setting her down. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After giving her some water and some crackers before helping her quietly up to his room and giving her some extra clothes before heading back downstairs to the living room. He sat on the couch with a sigh, the anger starting to bubble up inside him again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>How could Dewey ever hurt her?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He should've yelled at Dewey. For leaving Summer. For breaking </span>
  <em>
    <span>his</span>
  </em>
  <span> best friend. Should he drive back over? And yell at him for all he did? No.. he needed to keep an eye on Summer and make sure she was taken care of. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So without a second thought, he called the man responsible for all of this. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The phone rang for a mere few seconds before a tired, slightly slurred voice picked up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hullo?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, I just called to- you know what? I can't do this. Fuck you Dewey. You made Summer cry tonight. You both like each other and here you are pushing her away like she is some one night stand to you...You are the worst, man,  you don't deserve to have her. You treat her like she is some stick in the mud when she is the best damn thing that happened to you!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For a moment nothing came but silence before a loud sigh was heard.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You were the one who pushed us in there, Zack.  I pushed her away because she's a kid and she can find someone else, I am not gonna be around forever. I never wanted to make her cry, but I just can't date her. I am not the boyfriend.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh shut the fuck up man!  She </span>
  <em>
    <span>loves</span>
  </em>
  <span> you! She told me she loves you, and you like her back just the same way. So stop being such a  jerk and acting like you are protecting her when you are just protecting yourself. You're selfish Dewey Finn, I can't believe you would be so selfish to</span>
  <em>
    <span> her.</span>
  </em>
  <span> ”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With that the younger boy hung up tossing his phone down on the couch cushion next to him. Dewey was the worst. Trying to blame </span>
  <em>
    <span>him </span>
  </em>
  <span>for the shit he pulled? It wasn't his fault...right? </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <span>No. Now it wasn't. But he was right. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Zack</span>
  </em>
  <span> was the one who forced them into the closet, </span>
  <em>
    <span>he</span>
  </em>
  <span> made them play the silly game and now here he was cleaning up the mess he caused. He just hoped Summer would be alright.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>The rest of the ride was quiet as the radio hummed with some old overplayed CD Zack had stuck in sometime before they got in the car. </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>The drive was short, as it was only a few blocks down from Dewey's. They pulled up, Zack helped her into the house and let her settle at the table. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You really don't have to do all of this...I'll be okay. Really." She murmured, rubbing her puffy, glassy eyes with a small sniffle. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>God she </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>pathetic. Sitting here at her friend's house, wasted, while she cried over a boy. She never would've seen this coming in a million years. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But there she sat, sipping a glass of water and gnawing on some crackers as she rested her head in her hands. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her mind wouldn't let go of it all; she </span>
  <em>
    <span>loved Dewey</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and now she ruined everything. Her reputation was down the drain along with any hopes of concealing her feelings. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Eventually, Zack ushered her upstairs, leading her clumsily up to his room and lending her night clothes before grabbing his own. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Zack?" She called out barely above a whisper as he went to shut the door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Without a second thought, she went over and wrapped her arms around the boy, pulling him close for a few moments. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Thank you for taking care of me."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He left, and she changed into the cotton shirt and baggy shorts he left her- with some difficulty, before getting into bed and shutting off the light.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pulling the covers tightly over herself, she tried to silence the hammering thoughts that hit with each beat of her heart. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She didn't deserve this kindness. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After everything she had done? She came onto </span>
  <em>
    <span>him. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Yet through it all, Zack had stayed by her, and so had Dewey once upon a time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But Dewey undoubtedly hated her now. And Zack saw her at her worst. She dug her own grave. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>These thoughts soon fizzled though, as she simply found herself nodding off. Without the warm embrace she had had. Without her heart skipping a beat. Without any of it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was alone.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Author's Note: What follows is a roleplay between BugBreaths and myself, SpookyTsubaki. They are playing Dewey and I am playing Summer. Because of the nature of roleplay, the point of view changes often and you will see each event as it was perceived by our renditions of these characters. It's being posted here so that we can have a comprehensive archive to look back on and reread easily rather than having to dig through messages and docs. Be warned going forward that this story may never have a clean or concise ending as that is not the point of roleplay.</p><p>All this being said, please do enjoy.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Zack stayed up long into the night the guilt eating him away as he stared at the wall with heavy eyes. He caused this problem between Summer and Dewey, </span>
  <em>
    <span>he</span>
  </em>
  <span> was the one who made them kiss. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The boy sighed, placing his head in his hands. He was an idiot for even thinking it was a good idea to play seven minutes in heaven.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The guilt wouldn't leave him alone, even as sleep started to take over him, he couldn't stop thinking about what he caused. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Eventually Morning light started to shine in as Dewey Finn awoke with a pounding headache. It was strange to him going to bed without Summer around, not having dinner with her, not having her there to talk about the week ahead. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It hurt. But why? Why did it hurt so much? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a tired groan he forced himself up and to get ready for the day. Dragging his feet into the kitchen he found a cold and empty area, no coffee made, and no Summer to be found. He was already starting to miss her, but that pang of guilt hit him out of nowhere.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He kissed her too. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He shook his head trying to clear his head from those thoughts, he couldn't feel guilty today he had his job to do.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man made his morning coffee before chugging it down and getting dressed for the day, he threw one a random tee-shirt and some dirty pants before running out to his van being the late mess he was. He hadn't been late since Summer was always on his case about being there on time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>AS he pulled into the parking lot he saw the two people he wanted to avoid at all costs, Zack and Summer. Summer looked horrible, the poor girl looked like she had been crying her eyes out, </span>
  <em>
    <span>he caused that</span>
  </em>
  <span>. A sigh left him as he rubbed his face getting out of the car and making his way inside after them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Today was gonna be rough. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He felt all that guilt bubbling up as soon as he saw her, those puffy red eyes, bags under them, and swollen lips. Dewey caused all of that, he was horrible to her. How could he ever do such a thing to her?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Zack drove Summer, after grabbing a bite to eat.God, she looked so sad. Before they got out, he turned to her, to see her already trying to compose herself after the little soiree. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Hey." He put a hand on her shoulder. "If it's too much today, just tell me. Dewey was an ass. Just try and keep your distance, okay?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As they walked in he had been non stop glaring at him since he entered the building, and to him the tension seemed to be rising. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everyone could tell.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>The night passed far too quickly, leaving Summer with a nasty headache and a sturdy sense of nausea. She got up, barely wanting to look at herself in the mirror as she ran a brush through her matted hair and splashed cool water onto the splotchy red face she had. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Today was gonna be difficult. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She didn’t want to get up. She didn’t</span>
  <em>
    <span> want </span>
  </em>
  <span>to do anything, but she had a job and she couldn’t let everyone down- nor could she give way to how wasted she was last night. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So begrudgingly, the girl changed into her old clothes, tied up her hair, and made the bed- leaving no trace that she was ever there. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shortly thereafter, she made her way to the car along with Zack, the silence was deafening- not that she really minded, perse, but she did find it odd her normally outspoken friend was now as quiet as a mouse. But they didn’t dwell on it as they made their way to the school in no time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As per usual, there were a few kids waiting to be let in- earlybirds, which she admired, but to her surprise, no Dewey yet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maybe he overslept. He used to do that when the band first started up- and when she didn’t have a copy of the key. But it was unusual nonetheless. Just as she was about to text him, his van swerved quickly into a parking spot. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Though she was glad he was here to start practice, her heart dropped as she saw him; messy brown hair, old Tshirt, unkempt overall, he looked </span>
  <em>
    <span>horrible</span>
  </em>
  <span>- then again she was one to say much. They all got out- save for her stumbling slightly as Zack helped her, shooting an ugly look at Dewey. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They kept their distance, as Dewey unlocked the building with an eerie silence, before walking in shortly after. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Practice started up, after the leader gave a small spiel, yet the tension only grew as he shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot under Zack’s gaze. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Summer, however, tried hard to focus on other things; there wasn’t even a peep from where she sat, as she logged into the browser, ignoring the occasional glance of pity she got. She was fine. It wasn’t as if she was a helpless child, it was her own affliction that she had to deal with today. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Of course she was hurt by all that had happened- or what she could remember. But even tempting a glance at the former teacher seemed like too much of a trial. So she kept her head down, letting practice go by as quickly as it would, only getting up when the last few students mingled around. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was then that she got up, chancing a look at Dewey, before gaining her composure and walking over. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey. I need to get my stuff from your apartment. Since you have nothing else going on today, can you give me a ride?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her voice was cold, on edge, as if biting back any words she wished to say. She just needed to go over there, and pick up her stuff. Nothing more had to happen, they didn’t need to discuss it. He clearly didn’t want her, and she wasn’t going to wait in line. </span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>The day was going past painfully slow for him, it was so awkward and horrible. He could barely even look at her and when he did she always seemed so focused. Was she ignoring him or pretending like he didn't exist anymore? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Why wouldn't she even look at him? He fucked up so badly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As the practice came to a close he watched as the younger girl approached him, that hopefulness starting to grow slowly. Did she want to talk to him? Did she hate what was going between them as much as he did? What could she possibly need to say to him?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That is when he felt his heart sink. He wasn't sure if it showed on his face or not, but he was devastated. Summer wanted to come pick up her things? His tired eyes looked into her own unsure how to react at first, nothing came out of him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Summer, come on let's talk about this before you make any rash decisions.” He said with a slight nervous chuckle thinking he could play this off as a joke. He took a small step closer to her hoping this would not end their friendship.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She </span>
  <em>
    <span>backed away.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Not only did she just not respond, she backed away from him. She was so cold and closed off to him. Every second that went by was like a stab to the chest. “Fine, whatever.” He grumbled turning his back to her as he placed his guitar in its case.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This wasn’t stopping, he couldn't stop it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All of his emotions hit him at once as he grabbed his case walking out to his guitar giving her the cold shoulder. If she didn't want to talk it out, he wasn't going to bother with it. This wasn’t  just his fault, she had kissed him first. He got into his van not batting an eye towards the little girl that sat shotgun. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He started the van before driving away to his apartment, turning up the radio all the way. The drive was long, or so it seemed long to him, the only sound being whatever song played next from the radio station. His emotions bother him too much to even notice what song was playing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>How could she even act this way towards him? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A loud sigh left him as he turned down the radio giving her a quick glance. “We cannot just go on being silent with each other. I thought you would at least be mature enough to talk about it Summer.” He snapped slightly, pulling over and parking the van.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am not taking you back to my place till we talk.”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>At his attempt of a joke, she backed up, averting her gaze. "I'd uhm-...I'd appreciate it if we could just head back now." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She jumped as he slammed the case shut before walking out and barely waiting for her to catch up. Hoisting her bag over her shoulder, she shot Zack one pleading look as if to beg for this ride to not be as bad as she anticipated- not that he had much control anyway.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Getting in the car, she winced, music already blaring. Any other day, she would be fine reaching over to turn it down, but now, amongst the icy tension, she wasn't sure what was allowed and what wasn't.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So she kept her hands to herself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The scenery sped by as he took the streets to his apartment. The traffic was fairly light, but eventually, he pulled over to a complete stop, which chilled her to the bone. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But his words lit a fuse. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>'Not mature enough?' </span>
  </em>
  <span>Who the hell was </span>
  <em>
    <span>he</span>
  </em>
  <span> to say that? She messed up, but she was mature enough to handle nearly everything the band had, plus a normally sluggish Dewey Finn on top of it all. Her head still ached, and he was picking a fight, she was ready to argue right back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But she could stay composed at least. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have a headache. Can we do this later, please?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a deep breath, she continued to look out the window. Hoping he would give up and just let the silence brood. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nothing was that easy though, as he had an ultimatum. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Normally she would've been fine with waiting him out. He was stubborn, but she put up the fight. She </span>
  <em>
    <span>won</span>
  </em>
  <span> these things. But this time, the venomous words seeped into her tongue and left a bitter aftertaste.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>I'm </span>
  </em>
  <span>not mature enough? Please," she scoffed, a biting edge to her voice. "At least </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>didn't bring any drinks to a kid's party." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He fired back but it fell upon deaf ears. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I dunno what you want me to say! You brought the drinks and joined the game! That's on </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was all spilling out, she couldn't stop it even if she tried. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You ruined the party, it was going to be fine. But you got the drinks, and you were so irresponsible! What the hell were you thinking? God! And you turn around calling </span>
  <em>
    <span>me immature? </span>
  </em>
  <span>That's rich, Dewey."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He kept trying to speak, but she wasn’t done.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You know what's also funny? You couldn't even kiss me first! Zack told me! And in case you forgot you kissed back! You're a damn coward Dewey Finn. Without me around for any step of the way God knows where you'd be. No. Actually, I know where you'd be. You would be living on the streets cause you can't get your life together! It's sad you need a child to always help you every step of the way because you are too messed up to do anything for yourself. I'm sorry you're a screw up and have to blame your problems on others! Why don't you actually get a life instead of hanging out with some teens and get a real job. Because all you are doing is dragging the rest of us down with your silly dream, just like you've done to everyone else in your life." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn't until she looked up that she realized she'd messed up. "Dewey..I-I'm sorry...I didn't mean-" </span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Every time he had tried to get a word in he was cut off by her going on about how immature he was, which only started to fuel his rage. He may have not made the best decisions but he knew what would have happened most of the time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Summer-” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He rolled his eyes as she started up again giving her a glare trying his best not to cut her off completely. She should at least have a chance to finish her whole spiel. That was until she wouldn't stop, and he was taken back by her sudden words.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ha..” The man cut her off as she started to give her some long winded apology that wouldn't make a difference. “Shut it.” He snapped rather quickly before giving her a scowl.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know what Summer. At least I'm not some sad know it all manager who can't even make a single friend, because you are so worried about how people will perceive you. So instead you hang out with older men so you have something to hold you over in life. Yeah, dont act like I didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>fucking</span>
  </em>
  <span> notice. You try every single day to fix me so fucking much when I am fine the way I am, because you didn’t get to be happy in your own skin and still cant be. So when you meet someone who is happy being who they are you make a list of their flaws to avoid that long ass list of problems you have piling up since the day I met your sorry ass. Also in case you forgot the only reason you got this job, and you aren't some groupie sucking my dick right now, is because of me. I may have feelings for you and can't kiss you, but your sorry drunk ass came on to me. I don't want to date a child who is going to act like this when one little thing goes wrong for her. And you know what that is all you ever will be a child. A silly fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>child.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Each word that came out of his mouth was spoken like venom, not a care in the world if it hurt her or not. She made the first jab, he was going to fight back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“For the record before you started throwing your fucking hissy fit I was going to try and talk this out. Because hell I don't want to lose my best friend, but now I could give two shits less. If you really think that  way about me, then go ahead leave.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He shook his head turning away from her, not hearing the next words she said as he started to drive off again.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>He cut her off halfway through her apology, as he fired back. It was fair as it started off, she could handle that much, he was right. But somewhere in there, he got </span>
  <em>
    <span>mean.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Each jab hurt like pins and needles coming from any angle. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She couldn’t keep her defenses up. He was coming from all directions.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn't until her eyes welled up with tears that she spoke. A meek and warbled "stop" came as she tried to back down. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But he didn’t...he continued, on and on, leaving her to try and keep a brave face. Until he uttered those last words. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"Go ahead and leave."</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Stop! Stop! I get it, okay?!" She quivered, wiping her crying eyes with the back of her hand. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn't even care. Her heart shattered, nearly physically aching as she tried so hard to compose herself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Here she was crying in front of him, wishing to take back all that had happened. </span>
  <em>
    <span>She</span>
  </em>
  <span> messed up. She took the drink in the first place. Dewey was just there. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>By the time they reached the apartment, she was a sniffling, puffy eyed mess. She didn't know what to say or do, but she knew nothing good could come of all she had done. But she did it anyway, she needed to fix it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They walked up the stairs in silence, before unlocking the door and going inside.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The place still reeked of beer- and a few other substances, cans littered in a few places along with the quiet hum of the TV being on. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was a wreck.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was quick to head to his room silently and pack up her belongings, before making sure she grabbed her few things from around the house. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When she was ready to leave, she walked out, pausing only when she saw him sitting at the table. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Thanks. For uhm- letting me grab my stuff. I'll call a cab from here." She started towards the door with the dryness coming off in waves. </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <span>She messed up so much. There was no fixing it. How could she have done so much? She </span>
  <em>
    <span>ruined it all. </span>
  </em>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>She was crying, of course she was crying. No, no he </span>
  <em>
    <span>made</span>
  </em>
  <span> her cry again. Of course he made her cry, he made the situation worse twice now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While she packed up her belongings he thought keeping his distance was the best thing to do at the moment. She was hurt, he was hurt. They both just said a lot to each other.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It all came weighing down on him, as he tapped his foot anxiously waiting for her to get done.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn't want her to leave, he never wanted any of this to happen. With a sigh he sat down at the table, his head in his hands for a moment. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shit, how could he fix this right now? It was too soon, but he couldn't let her walk out that door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was snapped from his thoughts when he heard her small voice echo through the room. "Wait, please. Can you come sit down and we can actually talk?" As he asked there was a sense of pleading coming from his voice. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Those gentle eyes watched her every move as she came over to the table and sat down, a bit of hope going through him thinking he could fix this. "I didn't mean anything I said on the drive over, it was a dick thing to say." He sighed, rubbling his temples.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"And I still want you to be my best friend, but I'm not sure what to do now." A sigh left him as he averted his gaze, his shoulders falling slightly. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Author's Note: What follows is a roleplay between BugBreaths and myself, SpookyTsubaki. They are playing Dewey and I am playing Summer. Because of the nature of roleplay, the point of view changes often and you will see each event as it was perceived by our renditions of these characters. It's being posted here so that we can have a comprehensive archive to look back on and reread easily rather than having to dig through messages and docs. Be warned going forward that this story may never have a clean or concise ending as that is not the point of roleplay.</p><p>All this being said, please do enjoy</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Just as her hand graced the knob, he spoke up. Part of her wanted to practically leap into his arms and apologize, to tell him she never meant any of it, that she was just silly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But she wasn’t.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She didn't mean all that she said, but he attacked too. They were in the wrong and the last thing she wanted to do was give into his asking her to stay- she wasn't going to be painted the fool.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Eventually, as if taken over by another force, she stiffly walked over to him, sitting at the other end of the table, crossing her arms- putting an unknown barrier between the both of them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was quiet, their past aired grievances hung heavily now, as if a wet blanket was thrown over both their shoulders. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He spoke first, apologizing as she sat stoic, hoping to not cry once again in front of him. Her heart ached all the more though, hearing his pleas and the quivering in his own voice. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He hurt too. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was that moment that her shoulders drooped and she let out the breath she had been holding, he didn't wanna lecture her. He genuinely wanted to sort this out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I'm sorry too...I was brash and I shouldn't have kissed you. It was a silly little school girl crush and I acted on it….and after last night, I thought you </span>
  <em>
    <span>hated me</span>
  </em>
  <span>. So I didn't want to stick around for it.." she mumbled, averting her sheepish gaze to the floor. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Only when she looked up, did she realize the weight of what she had said. She had to fix this. He would get freaked out! She couldn't afford losing him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"But...yeah. I'm sorry." She ended abruptly, a soft rose hue coming to her rounded face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>What were they now? Still friends? After last night, her own feelings rung honest and unbridled, but what about him? Did he even like her now?</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>She thought he </span>
  <em>
    <span>hated</span>
  </em>
  <span> her? How could she think that? Yeah she got on his nerves sometimes, but he could never ever hate her over some kiss. Some kiss he enjoyed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But she was playing it off as some random school girl kiss that didn't mean anything to her. So he had to lie about it. Right? That's what he had to do. "Hey you were playing the game, and it was just some kiss. Now harm done." He shrugged with a small chuckle.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"But I'm really sorry about what I said in the van, I crossed the line. I crossed way over the line. I hope you can forgive me." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nervously he tapped his foot on the ground, the heaviness of the room crushing down on him as he looked at her. He was hopeful she would forgive him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"And I'm hoping that you will stay my best friend, and maybe staying the night like you always do. I'm also way too lazy to clean up this mess all on my own, I'm pretty sure there are beer cans in the toilet." A small laugh left him as he stood moving a few seats closer to her looking at her with those big puppy dog eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"It was so fucking weird not having you making coffee this morning! It felt so lonely without you here."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gently he gave her a punch on the arm and an impish grin. He had missed his best friend in the time they were separated. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dewey and Summer against the world, that's how it had to be. He couldn't let any pesky feelings get in the way, or ruin what they already had. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He couldn't look at her and think of her in any way, he couldn't have her as his girlfriend. He lied, and now they had to stay friends. It was better this way. She was better off this way. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Hey, why don't you get us some Chinese food. I'll start cleaning and turn on our favorite movie for some background noise." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man gave her a small pat on the head before standing up going to the kitchen and grabbing a trash bag, walking around cleaning up the left over beer cans. His place really was a mess. He was a mess.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was fine, this was all fine.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>So he thought it was just some kiss. That was good. That's what she </span>
  <em>
    <span>wanted. </span>
  </em>
  <span>But now they sat there, in a quiet awkwardness, unsure of where to go from there.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drumming her fingers against the grimy tabletop, it wasn’t until he spoke that she looked up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Of course I forgive you, I get it. And I hope you can forgive me...I never even </span>
  <em>
    <span>asked.</span>
  </em>
  <span>" She mumbled, the afterthought nearly making her sick. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She fancied herself someone who would have the perfect kisses and </span>
  <em>
    <span>give </span>
  </em>
  <span>the perfect kisses. But she betrayed that ideal at the party, with sloppy maneuvering and with her former teacher nonetheless...so </span>
  <em>
    <span>'perfect'</span>
  </em>
  <span> was off the table. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"That's it. We'll have a band meeting about equity and party etiquette." She chastised with a half joking manner. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dewey </span>
  <em>
    <span>didn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>hate her. This was all just a misunderstanding of her own little crush and she could get over it, their friendship was so much more important, even if it did hurt. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She did ache, unbearably so. She wanted to go home, but that was ridiculous, they were gonna be friends. She couldn’t make it awkward, it wasn’t about </span>
  <em>
    <span>her. </span>
  </em>
  <span>It was about how they handled it now. With swallowed pride, and a heavy heart, she forced a grin. They were friends. That's what he wanted, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>she </span>
  </em>
  <span>could want. </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>That's when she realized how close he was, having scooted a few more seats closer, she gave a wry chuckle, wanting desperately to steer away from anything too much into the territory of last night. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"So, what are you thinking of for your order? The usual? I think I might switch it up this time around." She took out her phone, of course checking out their favorite place.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But he'd left with giving her a little pat on the head, nothing more. Something definitely had changed, he was being </span>
  <em>
    <span>cautious. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Who was she to judge though? He had been kind and talked everything out with her even after all she had said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>How could she judge his motives?</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>"Why don't you surprise me with something new!" He called back as he distracted himself with cleaning up the apartment.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Soon the food came which he was enjoying, even if it was a new dish he never tried. “Nice choice, I am really enjoying this.” with a mouthful of food they sat on the couch watching old reruns of a show they'd always enjoyed. “You know you always have good taste.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He shoved another bite in his mouth giving her a side eye, damn he really couldn't get over her. No matter how hard he wanted to push those feelings away he couldn't, but she saw it as some silly kiss. He was wrong for even thinking about putting his feelings out in the open like that with her. It would just end up with him getting hurt.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn't like she actually liked him, she told him it was some school girl crush. That's what he was to her, her school girl crush she couldn't shake. A small sigh left him as he focused on the show, not wanting to get lost in his thoughts about Summer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, want something to drink? M' thirsty...and don't worry it won't be beer.” The man joked standing up heading to the kitchen. He opened the fridge grabbing himself a soda, then her a glass of water knowing she would have requested that. With a tap in his step he walked back into the living room setting both the drinks on the coffee table.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“One water for you my lady.” A laugh left him as he grabbed his soda taking a sip. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Those gentle eyes didn't leave her as she smiled at his horrible joke. No, he couldn't look at her that way. He couldn’t look at her like she was his whole world, because one kiss messed up what they already had. Letting his mind wander he thought of the kiss, of her flavored lip gloss mixed with heavy tones of beer. How she smelled like an elegant jasmine perfume mixed with a note of sweetness, how her shirt was soft against him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No. No. No. He needed to stop. He couldn't do this every time he got around her, he could not feel those endless butterflies start up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All he saw was her lips moving but those thoughts were screaming in his head. He needed to leave, he needed to clear his head of Summer. How could he do that when she was always there? When she was here now? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I'll be right back.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Briskly he stood up and walked to the bathroom in a stiff manor, closing and locking the door behind him. His heart was pounding so loudly all he could hear was that. Why did he have to get this way around her? Why couldn't it just be normal?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man sat down on the toilet rubbing his face as he tried to calm himself. The knots in his stomach turned over and over again as he thought about the girl waiting for him out there. The girl that probably didn't even like him that way anymore. If he didn't run away the other night would today be different? Would she be in his arms? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Would they be dating? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Would they be doing all those couple things? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A half smile came to his face at the thought of that. Them being a couple. Never in a million years, but he could think about it. He didn't have to tell anyone he thought about it. All he could think about was Summer, his girlfriend, that would never be possible. He was Dewey Finn, a loser who shared a sloppy drunk kiss with the little girl he'd grown to love. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shit, he had been in here for too long. He quickly flushed the toilet and started to wash his hands before heading out and sitting down next to her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey. Did I miss anything on the show?”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>One food order and a good hour and a half of cleaning later, they settled on the couch, turning on some old reruns as they ate silently- save for the occasional chuckle that escaped Dewey. Summer, however, found herself sitting as quiet as a mouse, mind wandering. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Why had he just forgiven her so easily? She certainly didn’t deserve it. But here they were, sitting close, a few jokes and play fights later, comfortably leaning up against each other as she was left to wonder how he could forgive the mishap that occurred just a few hours prior. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Just as she went to question him, he got up hurriedly, mumbling something about drinks. It was then that her stomach dropped a bit, at the thought of last night’s performance having a repeat. She didn’t want to mess up anything else. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But her breath was held for no reason at all as he brought her a water, and himself a soda. This was perfect. Nothing bad could happen this way. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For good measure, she scooted away a bit, giving him space to stretch out before taking a sip of her water, shooting him a grateful smile. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everything was okay. It wasn’t as if he would pin her down with kisses or such. They sat practically an arm’s length away and from there, nothing could happen. But her heart racing contradicted her. Why was she so nervous? It wasn’t as if something would happen. They were friends. Nothing would break that at the very least. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But the few glances she stole were all in wanton; observing his peach-fuzz face, the deep brown eyes that matched her own in color, yet not so in passion, how he sat so relaxed, a thick layer of chub coating him, giving him the appearance of someone much more slovenly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But she loved it all. From head to toe, he was her Dewey. The man who always gave her respect, no matter what the situation, who didn’t push her away as if she were some nuisance. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When the dip of the couch was lifted, she looked up, to see him standing, before announcing that he would be gone temporarily. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With something of practiced stiffness, he walked over to the bathroom, nearly slamming the door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Did she do something? Part of her wanted to make sure she didn’t mess up. No matter what, she wouldn’t nearly lose him again. But instead, she shrugged it off, settling back in to watch the mind numbing show before he came back out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nothing really, mostly commercials.” She answered once he had decided to rejoin her. It was nothing short of awkward as they shifted uncomfortably, shaking their legs or drumming their fingers on the hard lacquer wood. </span>
</p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>The awkward silence went on for too long, he would open his mouth to speak every few minutes but nothing came out. Why did this have to be so awkward between them? The awkward silence was just weighing down on him more and more as he sunk further into the couch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Say something. Say something. Say something. "Hey, I was thinking about giving you a much needed break soon. You do so much work for the band, maybe you'd like a few days off or something."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Idiot</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He was an idiot, that was the best thing he could have come up with?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Or maybe the whole band takes a few days off. I've heard people complaining a lot recently, so maybe a break would be nice. Plus a few days off means you and I can hang out and go out and paint the town."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a quick glance over at her and an awkward smile. "I mean that would be fun right? All we do when we hang out is stay in and watch tv or work."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He looked into her brown eyes before he chanced a look at her lips. If only he could kiss her now. He moved a bit closer to her as she spoke. Was she blushing a bit? Did he make her blush by asking to hang out? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But he brushed it off as the light playing tricks, but he couldn't help but love the idea of making her blush. It was cute in his eyes, she always had her act together, so seeing her flustered was entertaining. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"So if we were to go out somewhere, where would you wanna go? Cause I have some places in mind, I'm not sure if you're old enough to get into them though." He thought for a moment and sighed. "Yeah yer definitely too young. So I guess we could go to places you like." He spoke ruffling her sleek hair. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man didn't mind going out and seeing what she enjoyed. Maybe he would get to see her cute smile, or her laugh that always lit up his world. She always lit up his world, even as his friend the little bossy Summer made him happy. </span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Everything seemed to move in slow motion. Neither of them spoke, the television drowning out their breathing, silent sighs, and all that was left in between. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Summer wanted to stop it, to scream out how she felt, how much she did need him around. But she didn't. It was quiet, the two of them eating and drinking in peace, as the sun set over the Bronx. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On the days she wasn’t pushing herself far beyond her own limits, Summer found herself observing the city, and the tricks lights played on her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now she stared at one Dewey Finn, who carelessly munched on a spring roll, oblivious to her gaze. The golden summer light that hung heavy on the Hudson illuminated his background, nearly presenting him to be some ethereal being. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was then that she was called from her thoughts by his gravelly voice speaking to her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"A break? After everything we worked so hard for? Dewey..I dunno-" She paused, seeing his expression of joking glint in those dark eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a relenting sigh and eye roll she gave in. "Fine. But only two days, tops. I'm not gonna waste that much time." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After their previous night, part of her wondered what "hanging out" would entail. A rouge dusted her cheeks as her mind wandered all the more.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But alas, she shook it off, knowing that such things were off limits. He didn't like her. She </span>
  <em>
    <span>loved </span>
  </em>
  <span>him. The likelihood that he would ever change his mind about her though, was slim.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When asked what she wanted to do, she frowned. This was a first, she never </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> much outside of work and school. But the longer she thought, the more anxious he seemed to get. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"W-what about a museum? I know there's one on West fourth.. a nice park and bakery around there too. It couldn't hurt to check out if you want." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her heart was racing. Since when did she care so much about what he thought of her? She was Summer Hathaway. Not some silly lovesick groupie. </span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>With an anxious smile he tapped his foot as he waited for her response, when she finally spoke up he let out a breath he had seemed to be holding in. "That sounds nice, I'd love to do that." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She wanted to go out with him. His heart was racing a mile a minute, he had to remember this wasn't a date. They were just friends hanging out, that was all. He couldn't pull at his heart strings again over Summer. Nothing was there between them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The rest of the night went semi smoothly a few awkward moments here and there, but nothing Dewey couldn't make disappear with a joke or two. Before he knew it was late, and he was a tired mess. With a loud yawn he stood up and looked at Summer for a moment. She was adorable when she was sleepy, those half lidded eyes that looked up at him waiting for something, anything. Oh shit he was staring.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m gonna get you some stuff to sleep with and some pjs.” The man grumbled scratching his chest, his shirt rising a bit before he shuffled away awkwardly. Why did Summer have to make him feel this way all the time? It was bothersome, she didn't even feel the same way back. Yet here he was trying not to go back out there and tell her everything.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Grabbing his favorite shirt from the floor for her to wear, which happened to be the bacon and egg skull shirt, as well as a pillow and a fluffy blanket for her, he made his way back into the living room. “Here ya go tinkerbell. I will see you in the morning.” WIth a smirk he ruffled her hair before going back to his room, closing the door behind him quickly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A sigh left him as he stripped down to his boxers throwing the rest of his clothes on the ground before face planting onto his bed. A groan leaving him as he tried to ignore the embarrassing night he created for himself. Mushing his face into the pillow he thought about her. Those gentle eyes, how they were so close, how she looked in the evening sun. Summer was gorgeous.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All he could hear was the thump of his heart beat in his ears as he rolled over staring at the ceiling. What could he possibly do about these feelings that plagued him every minute. The rest of the night ended up with him tossing and turning until he passed out in the early hours of the morning. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Author's Note: What follows is a roleplay between BugBreaths and myself, SpookyTsubaki. They are playing Dewey and I am playing Summer. Because of the nature of roleplay, the point of view changes often and you will see each event as it was perceived by our renditions of these characters. It's being posted here so that we can have a comprehensive archive to look back on and reread easily rather than having to dig through messages and docs. Be warned going forward that this story may never have a clean or concise ending as that is not the point of roleplay.</p><p>All this being said, please do enjoy.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span>Summer awoke dazed and confused as the bright light shone through the bay window. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Right</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she was exiled to the couch for the night. Did Dewey really get worried? Did she mess everything up between them with some stupid kiss? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A groan escaped her plush lips as she fought the morning with desperation, clinging onto sleep, to stay in a fantasy where she didn't have to be perfect. Dewey would like her no matter what, no embarrassing kiss, drunken mistakes, or tension. Everything was okay there. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But of course it was short-lived as her alarm went off, seven sharp as per usual. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Damn</span>
  </em>
  <span>, the one day she had a chance to sleep in, and there she was getting up for the day, after the sore reminder she hadn't shut off her alarm. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She surveyed the kitchen, making coffee to give her a small Jumpstart, and saw that Dewey was still sleeping. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Typical. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In a twisted way, she envied him, nobody expected greatness. Nobody expected him to keep everything in line. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pouring two cups, her cheeks unintentionally flushed with anger. Nothing was truly the matter, but three off-putting days was enough to rattle the girl. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shortly after pouring and nursing her cup, Dewey stumbled out of his room, clad only in boxers as she wore his top. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Quite a pair they made; </span>
  </em>
  <span>a sad little manager, and some washed up rocker  sharing clothes as if no strings came attached.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Good morning to you too," she teased, greeting him with a jovial light heartedness, he didn't need to know how nervous she was. This was manageable. "Ready to go out? Good thing I still have my work clothes here." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Only a grunt in reply. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She rolled her eyes. Dewey was never much of a morning person, unlike herself, but he seemed more bitter than usual. So with little effort, she drew his attention by placing a hand on his arm. "What's up? Didn't sleep well?"</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Trying to avoid the morning light and the loud alarm that came from the living room, the exhausted man grabbed a pillow hiding his face under it with a loud tired groan. He had an almost sleepless night and now he couldn't even sleep in because everything in the world wanted him to get up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After laying there, persistent in trying to sleep again, he gave up and got up. A sour look on his face as he shuffled his way into the kitchen to find her there. The one that kept him awake for hours, the one that plagued his thoughts, and did she look cute. As she asked him a question a grunt was all he could reply in his tired state. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dewey reached for his cup that she poured for him, he felt that gentle hand on his arm. "No, not really. Couldn't sleep at all." The man grumbled with a sigh as he took a sip of the coffee. "You also know I'm not a morning person Summer." He joked slightly, looking at her as his face softened slightly, he furrowed brows as he sipped the coffee.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Let me drink this and wake up more. Then I'll be ready to go. You also don't look ready to go either, tinkerbell." A sly grin came to his face as he casted his eyes down into his mug. A small yawn left him as he scratched the back of his neck. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A slight redness came to his cheeks as the realization hit him. She was only in his shirt while all he wore was a pair of boxers. The man gave a quick glance to her looking her up and down biting his lip slightly before sipping his coffee once again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>God what was he doing? Getting so worked up over Summer. It was just Summer. </span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>An eyebrow raised as he spoke, tilting her head, about to ask why before he cracked a joke. A small grin came to those peach lips as she chuckled slightly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Touché, it was worth a try at least." She retorted, before going back to the cup, much like his own doing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He spoke once more, causing her to look down at their attire- she only wore a shirt and he was only in his underwear. It wasn't any different...when she used to wake him up in the mornings, she had seen her fair share of pantsless Dewey, so why did her cheeks burn?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Averting her eyes, the silence between them was deafening. How could she already be back in the same boat? This crush  was becoming anything but easy to get rid of.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So there they sat, occasionally chancing a glance at each other. Neither actually speaking let alone truly interacting. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was one way she could fix this, maybe it wasn't the best way to fix the current situation, but talking to Zack always seemed to help. With no other forethought, she was quick to message him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Hey. Everything's smoothed over but awkward as hell...fill you in later?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A message shot back, pinging a shrill notification, just as Dewey got up. Her own hazelnut eyes shot up, just as he left the room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Get ready quick! I wanna get tickets for one of the newer exhibits!" She called out as he shut the door. There she stood once again on the wrong side. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a groan, she stretched once more and gathered her things for the guest bathroom, to beat him to the task of inevitably waiting longer than a few minutes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Observing her reflection, unintentionally sizing herself up in the process- she sighed. Her frizzy black hair only stayed pinned up so nicely, and weighing the options of leaving it to its own devices became more and more tempting.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a few good minutes of arguing silently with herself, Summer left, sporting a red corduroy skirt and turtleneck black sweater, sleek black hair cascading down to her waist. For once- to her surprise- Dewey seemed to be waiting anxiously to leave.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Hey, where was this  hustle an hour ago?" She teased nudging him gently as they started out the door.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Dewey let out a small snicker as he looked at her. “An hour ago I didn't have coffee tinkerbell. You think I had any hustle in me?” He questioned with a sly grin grabbing his keys, while he stuffed his wallet into his pocket. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Practically shoving her out the door and down to the van they were on their way to the museum. The drive over was as normal as ever, he blared his music singing along loudly. Though that was mostly to calm his nerves of being around Summer. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Today felt like it was already taking forever though, he seemed to be hiding his emotions semi-well in his own mind. He just hoped nothing would show in front of </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span>, it wasn't an option he was willing to risk. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When they got there he parked and looked at the time. “Come on short stack, you wanted to get tickets for the new exhibits right? If we run we might get there to get a few.” Quickly he grabbed her hand and ran a big grin on his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In his head everything was fine, holding her hand was just to make her run faster. She was short, it didn't mean anything else in his clod brain. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As they got to the entrance, he heaved in and out looking at her with a big toothy grin on his face. “...You...run so….slow.” He muttered, taking a breath almost every other word. A small half laugh left him as he walked inside with her, still not a care in the world. So far the day had been going well, despite the running.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Letting go of her tiny hand he pulled out his wallet ready to pay. That's when it hit him. His face went beat red as he asked for two tickets to the new exhibits in a shrill voice. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oh god, he had been holding Summer’s hand for such a long time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ha, see running helped.” The man cracked a joke looking away from her, his anxiousness coming off of him in waves. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Today was gonna be so long.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>"Fair enough, do we have everything we need or-" before she could even finish her sentence, Dewey was shoving her out to the garage, and into the van. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Well, at least they'd make it on time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His music always set the mood for the day, but as of today, she couldn't figure out what the hell was going on in his head. He looked happy enough, and who was she to question? If today just continued this way it'd be fine. Maybe she was overreacting. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They soon parked the van and got out to start the small walk towards the entrance. That is, until he grabbed her hand and started running. "H-hey! We don't have to run! Slow down!"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her own legs could barely keep up, having to take two more steps for his every one. She stumbled, occasionally, thanks to the few cracks in the sidewalk, but that hardly slowed him down.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At last they made it, both winded and tired from Dewey's small burst of energy. Immediately after catching her breath, Summer looked up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"We didn't have to run! Walking would've been fine! The tickets don't sell out that quickly!" She huffed, but she only got a joke out of him before they started inside. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They went to get tickets, but just at that moment, red hued his chubby peach fuzz cheeks. Confused, she looked for whatever could've caused this outburst of blushing, but nothing came to mind.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Until he let go of her hand. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They </span>
  <em>
    <span>used </span>
  </em>
  <span>to do that, and have no problem with it. It was fine to any extent. But ever since the party, it got weird. It was all her fault. Kissing him was beyond stupid, everything that used to be business as usual now had the bitter reminder that she misread and damaged their friendship. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nevertheless, they were here now, stuck in this stalemate until they figured out how to move on. But as of now, that seemed far away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Walking into the exhibit, they kept their distance a bit, while she stopped to read the informational sections, as he went and looked at the exhibit itself. Quite a pair they made, she mused thoughtfully. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They walked through, occasionally cautiously grabbing the other, to show a new detail they found. The tension slowly melting. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. </span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>As they walked through he looked around at all the different exhibits, some catching his eye, before Summer gave a gentle tug to his arm pointing out another one to him. He would give a small glance at the one she pointed out, before looking at her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The tension from before had melted away and here he was, thinking about how nice this was. Being here with her. Even if she didn’t feel the same way, he still had her around. It was better than nothing, even if they were in this strange draw.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you enjoying this so far?” He asked with a small grin on his face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He let his shoulders relax feeling comfortable around her. He listened to her until another exhibit caught his eye. “Oh hey, let's check this out.” Grabbing her hand gently he tugged her along walking over to it with an excited look on his face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know, I never come to museums enough. They are a lot more interesting than I thought.” He muttered quietly looking at her, being semi invested in the pieces around them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As they continued to look around a small amount of confidence came through him. Taking a small deep breath, he held her hand intertwining their fingers together. She had such soft hands compared to his own rough ones, it felt nice. They were tiny compared to his own, she was actually rather small compared to him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maybe he should pay more attention to her sometimes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey let's get some lunch after this, I'm starving, and I know a nice pizza place nearby that we could go to.” He suggested almost unsure where to take her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Maybe fast food would have been better. </span>
  </em>
  <span>The thought came into his mind as got lost in his own thoughts.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then after we eat we could just go walk around, maybe window shop?” He suggested, wanting to spend the whole day with her.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>After spending another good hour or two, observing each artifact and installation, they walked out both content with their morning escapade. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Pizza sounds great right about now. Good thinking." She chirped, skipping alongside him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Through all of this, her heart didn't stop acting though. How could she have been so terrible to him? Was he forgiving her? Or should they be more apart? It wasn't fair to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The hand holding, the racing, the little looks and tugs. All of it felt like a dream. But that's what it was, nothing more. It wasn't fair to </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Part of her wanted to be angry, and yell. </span>
  <em>
    <span>How could he have been such a bad friend and led her on?</span>
  </em>
  <span> But that was just as bad as her denial of her crush. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They walked silently, the bustle of new york traffic being more than enough to distract them both from the ever-growing distance. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"It's weird having a day off...I'm glad we're getting out or I might’ve gone crazy having nothing to do." Summer joked, before biting into a slice of pizza, which was still not entirely cooled. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Their conversations bounced back and forth, with a notable hesitation in each word. Her brows creased at the thought, as she focused her attention outside, instead of to him or the food, they would still be there. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Hey." She started, sobriety heavy in her voice. "Do you ever...miss when we were just a band? And there was no fighting, or hard gigs, or</span>
  <em>
    <span> parties.</span>
  </em>
  <span>" She traced the fog on the glass with a manicured digit, still appearing disinterested in any conversation, let alone a serious one. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was too quiet for her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I do- sometimes...not a lot. But sometimes I wish we didn't </span>
  <em>
    <span>have </span>
  </em>
  <span>to be diligent about everything. That it could all be back to the good old days." A chuckle escaped her lips wryly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her thoughts traveled back to earlier, her own bitter jealousy of him, and his uncaring nature, it all seemed so simple. She ached for that. </span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>As their conversation drifted into a stand still, the silence almost suffocating to him as he stuffed his mouth with food. Just as he was about to take another bite, she spoke up. Looking up an amused smile came to his face as she went on. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was strange to see her become so flustered over such a topic, of course he missed the past. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I do. It was a lot easier. Just playing cause it made me happy, it made the others happy.” Sitting back in his chair he paused for a moment. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>You</span>
  </em>
  <span> were happier. I noticed how much the band meant to you when you were younger.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The older man looked down at his plate with an ever growing grin. This conversation seemed to be going somewhere, that would either be a mess once again, or fix the whole situation in his mind. Crossing his arms over his chest he looked at her once again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>What could he say now? All he could do was look at her, everything else seemed to fade around him, it was as if they were the only two people. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sometimes playing feels like a-a chore.” He spat out as his eyes grew a bit wide, that was not what he wanted to say. “What I meant was, when we play so much, we lose the fun. When we were just a band, that's why I always enjoyed it.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Those memories came back to him a bit as he thought about it, how much Summer hated him at the time. They didn’t really get along when they first met. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey tinkerbell, remember how much you hated me? I’m sure you were losing your mind everyday back then.” Dewey joked with a sly gin. “Wait, you tried to rat me out to Ms. Mullins! I remember that!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A joking glare came to his face as he started to laugh. “You were such a teacher's pet back then, no wonder you drank last night, you just <em>had to </em>please the teacher.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As soon as he said that he winced, trying to keep it light hearted nonetheless. A repeat of yesterday wouldn't do anything. </span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <span>"I guess I was. Everything moved too quickly for me to settle down and figure out what </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> really wanted. A-at least I have a career lined up, and all of the band now...Can't get much better than that." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The quiet grew after her lament, the weight of all this weekend had thrown at them becoming heavier. That is, until Dewey blurted something out at long last, as if he knew how bad the silence was.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"What?" She sputtered, almost in disbelief. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dewey Finn, the man who'd forced his class into playing for a Battle of the Bands thought that playing was a chore? She waited for a joke, but for once, he didn't seem to crack a punchline.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Y-yeah. It can get tiring sometimes, I didn't think you ever thought about it. I mean, you always seem so enthusiastic up there and at practice." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Resting her chin in the palm of her hand she listened to him continue down his walk of memory lane. As he brought up her old habits of trying to get him fired, she found her cheeks heating up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Did she tell you that?! I can't believe it! I thought she would stay quiet about it now!" She whined in disdain nearly slumping against the small table. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Despite the comedic outburst, she was laughing along, until he brought up their closeness. It wasn't as funny anymore, but he was still laughing, so she played along. "Yeah, God I feel so stupid after that party...getting close and all. Everything is so weird now!"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A little voice in her head was begging for him to disagree, to say she was brave for doing that, that he thought deep down, they could've made it, had they not both been too different. </span>
</p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh yeah, don’t get me wrong. I always enjoy it, cause of you guys. Seeing the kids happy makes me happy.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They went on talking about those old memories until she mentioned the party. When a sudden quietness fell over them yet again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dewey looked at her for a moment, before looking down poking at the now cold pizza before he spoke up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everything was weird now she was right about that, but what could he say to her? “Yeah, that party was a stupid idea. I mean you are still so young.” He scratched the back of his neck nervously looking at her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That’s when he felt the room shift, that thin ice was freezing over again. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck.</span>
  </em>
  <span> “I mean, we are close but we could never ever date. You're just like an annoying little sister to me, ya know? You don’t even like me that way. So yeah it's weird now, it might be for a while.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With every word he said it felt as if the tension grew and grew. Square one coming to hit him again in the face all over again. Would she disagree? Deep down he wanted her to, to tell him how stupid he was being. Giving a quick glance over to her, he could see how her mood changed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I mean, to be fair it was just a kiss, nothing more. All friends end up kissing at some point, it's not like it meant anything to me.” The sudden defensive route took him off guard, as he started to give her a sympathetic look.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No. What else could he say? Their friendship was down the drain as is, and any thought of ever being more with her went out the window a long time ago. At this point they were practically coworkers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Why did she have to bring up that stupid party? How clueless could she be right now? All he was trying to do was go back to normal after everything that had happened. Didn’t she want that as well? Why did she have to act so weird around him all the time?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was the one who kissed him, she didn’t even like him. So what the hell was her problem?</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Instead of any denial, she was met with absolute agreement. Frowning, she listened as he elaborated, seemingly unaware of what she wanted out of the conversation.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At least she now knew, any hope of trying to clear up this mishap and make something work was ridiculous. How painfully naive she'd been to think that they could have something special in this turn of events.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> However, no matter how sorrowful she felt, anger took over that vulnerability.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her mouth tightened to form a taut line, as her eyes held their usual vague, dark expression. She wasn't going to crack under the pressure. There was a reason she was hired as manager.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"That kiss meant nothing to me."</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Oh nothing? I mean the way you stayed and kissed back says otherwise." She leered with a false laugh. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Well, I'm glad we are on the same page at least. Wouldn't wanna </span>
  <em>
    <span>misread</span>
  </em>
  <span> anything now." She remarked bitterly, getting up to leave. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I'll pay you back for the food later, I just forgot about something I had to do." She called back, refusing to listen or turn to face him.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>How could she have been so stupid?</span>
  </em>
  <span> He didn't like her. He was stuck in a game and now she was throwing some petulant fit because he didn't like her, quite the manager she was.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In a huff she was walking through the bustle of the street, getting turned this way and that, just to get out of there. Her eyes were glassy, breath shortening as a lump caught in her throat. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She was pathetic. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>